OU Races Past Northern Colorado, 80-44

NORMAN, Okla. -- Taj Gray had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Jaison Williams scored 14 as Oklahoma beat Northern Colorado 80-44 Saturday.

Gray dominated in the paint while Williams hit a hot streak from 3-point range, and the Sooners (6-1) rode the duo to the win.

Oklahoma took control of the game with a 17-2 run to close the first half. Lawrence McKenzie hit 3-pointers from the left wing and the left corner during the run and lofted an alley-oop pass that Gray hammered down with both hands to make it 39-24.

It was Gray's fourth dunk of the first half. He also had a two-handed jam off an inside move, another two-handed alley-oop from a McKenzie pass and an athletic right-handed slam off his own midcourt steal.

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He had 16 points and five rebounds at the break.

"I saw a lot of good things tonight. We made a lot of shots tonight and I thought our kids did well. Northern Colorado is making the transition into Division I. Their kids competed and played hard and you have to respect that. I just thought it was a dominant defensive performance. We played aggressively."

Oklahoma led 50-24 after Williams hit consecutive 3s to open the second half, and Northern Colorado (2-9) was never again within 20.

The Sooners went up 61-28 with an 11-4 run that included another Gray basket inside and another Williams 3-pointer and continued to pull away. Gray capped an 11-0 run with a right-handed jam and another inside basket as Oklahoma extended its lead to 74-37 and cruised to the finish.

Terrell Everett added 13 points and Kevin Bookout had 11 for the Sooners, who play No. 9 Duke on Saturday in New York. Kirk Archibeque scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Bears, who committed 22 turnovers and shot 41 percent from the field. Oklahoma shot 52 percent.

Said Northern Colorado head coach Craig Rasmuson, "I think OU is a very good team. When they got after us and played with high energy, they were the best team we faced. Syracuse didn't get after us defensively like OU did today."

Oklahoma reserve guard Brandon Foust, who was suspended for one game earlier this season for violating curfew, was not at the game due to ``personal issues,'' coach Kelvin Sampson said.

OU Races Past Northern Colorado, 80-44

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