Sooners Roll to Pair of Basketball Victories in Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica It didn't take long for freshman point guard Drew Lavender to establish himself as an impact player for the Oklahoma men's basketball team. The 5-7 McDonald's All-American was the catalyst in a 94-58 triumph over a Panama club team in a Saturday afternoon exhibition game as he scored a game-high 18 points and had 12 assists while committing no turnovers. In OU's evening game, senior wing Jason Detrick was 11-for-17 from the field and tallied 26 points in a 103-43 win over Limon, the reigning second-place team in the Costa Rican league. Sophomore forward Kevin Bookout added 22 points on perfect 11-for-11 shooting versus Limon.

"Given the fact that we have so many new faces, practiced twice each day last week and played two games after so much travel yesterday, I was pretty pleased with our team's performance today," said 10th-year Sooners head coach Kelvin Sampson. "Our legs were a little tired and you could tell by the way we missed some open jump shots in that first game. But we bounced back against a better team in the evening game and won by 60. I'd say we're moving in the right direction. This team has a chance to be pretty good."

Against Panama, Lavender was 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line with five boards and two steals in 32 minutes to go along with his 12 hand-outs. Bookout posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and was 8-for-11 from the field. Freshman wing Jimmy Tobias turned in a stellar game, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 16 minutes before fouling out.

The Sooners shot .458 from the floor and .240 from three-point range (6-for-25) while holding Panama to .346 and .214 (3-for-14) figures. OU also registered a healthy 60-26 rebounding advantage.

"We have some quality veterans on this team, but the best player on the floor in today's first game was a freshman -- Drew Lavender," said Sampson. "And Jimmy Tobias played well, too."

In the 60-point evening win, Detrick canned four 3-pointers on seven attempts and added five boards, seven assists and four steals. The 6-5 senior committed five turnovers each game in his first live game action since OU's Final Four loss to Indiana in 2002.

"It was great to get back out on the court after a year of not playing,' said Detrick following the nightcap. 'It took a little while to shake off the rust. I kind of got in a groove tonight, but I need to cut down on my turnovers."

Joining Detrick and Bookout in double figures against Limon were Tobias and sophomore Johnnie Gilbert with 13 points apiece and junior guard Jaison Williams with 11. Gilbert just missed a double-double with nine rebounds, and added three assists, two blocks and two steals.

OU sizzled from the field against Limon. The Sooners were 43-for-68 from the field for a .632 figure and drained 12-of-19 from beyond the arc for an identical .632 mark. Limon shot just .311 from the floor and .167 from long range.

Two more freshmen contributed nicely for OU as guard Lawrence McKenzie had 10 points and three assists on the day and redshirt center Larry Turner produced 12 points and 11 rebounds over the two victories. Senior center Jabahri Brown was slowed by a sore ankle but still had a combined six points and 13 rebounds.

Sophomore guard De'Angelo Alexander, a Big 12 All-Reserve Team member last year, was in street clothes today as he recovers from a dislocated right shoulder sustained in practice last Monday. The Sooners play two more games Sunday before leaving Costa Rica on Monday morning.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Roll to Pair of Basketball Victories in Costa Rica

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