No. 12 Oklahoma Trounces Texas Southern, 97-55

Dec 29, 2001

By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY - Not having its leading scorer was no problem for No. 12 Oklahoma.

With Hollis Price watching from the bench with an eye injury, backup Jason Detrick scored a career-high 20 points and Ebi Ere also scored 20 as the Sooners beat Texas Southern 97-55 in the All-College Classic on Saturday night.

Detrick, a junior college transfer, was 7-of-10 from the field, grabbed five rebounds and had five steals to help Oklahoma (10-1) win its ninth straight.

"Since Hollis was out, I thought they needed me to score a little more so I just tried to do whatever they needed me to do," Detrick said. "It felt good. It felt like I was back at junior college again, all the shots going in."

Detrick, Blake Johnston and Quannas White each hit 3-pointers in an 18-0 run that gave the Sooners a 23-4 lead. The margin was 25 at halftime and the Sooners continued to build on the lead after that.

"I had a feeling he was going to play well because he had been practicing so well," coach Kelvin Sampson said of Detrick. "It's not easy for a junior college kid to come in right away and fit right in. Jason's really starting to figure it out. He's a kid who has a lot of ability."

Texas Southern (1-9) shot just 30.6 percent (15 of 49) and committed 24 turnovers.

Price, who got poked in the eye during practice Thursday, was in street clothes and sunglasses.

Ere, averaging 15.5 points per game, didn't score until the 9:48 mark of the first half but it hardly mattered - his basket made the score 27-9.

Aaron McGhee, the team's third-leading scorer at 14.7 per game, didn't even take a shot until midway through the first half and didn't score until just over nine minutes remained.

Jabahri Brown had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Daryan Selvy scored 15 for the Sooners. Ra'Kim Hollis scored 20 for Texas Southern.

"It was just a workmanlike game," Sampson said. "We just came out and beat a team by 40 that we should beat by 40. It's nothing to put your chest out about."

The Sooners were coming off a 16-point victory over then-No. 2 Maryland, a game that helped them jump 10 spots in this week's AP poll. Now they're off until Jan. 5 when they open Big 12 Conference play against Texas A&M.

"We've grown so much as a team and understanding how we have to play, just in the last month," Sampson said. "But starting Saturday, there's no free lunches anymore."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 12 Oklahoma Trounces Texas Southern, 97-55

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