Sooners Defeat Nebraska, 63-59, in Opening Round of Big 12 Tournament

DALLAS, Texas -- Drew Lavender made sure three-time defending Big 12 tournament champion Oklahoma didn't get upset in the first round.

Lavender scored 16 of his 19 points after halftime when the Sooners rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Nebraska 63-59 Thursday night. Oklahoma won its 10th straight Big 12 tournament game since losing in the 2000 title game, and kept alive its slim hopes for an NCAA berth.

The Sooners (19-9) had their worst-shooting half of the season, hitting just 8-of-32 shots while falling behind 35-22 by halftime. Lavender made just one of his six shots.

The turnaround started when Lavender made the first two baskets of the second half, driving for a layup and then making a floating one-handed bank shot.

Big 12 | Notes

Those baskets started a 19-5 run in which the 5-foot-7 freshman guard had nine points and Oklahoma went ahead, 41-40 on Larry Turner's follow-up shot with 12:14 left. That was the only lead change, and the Sooners went on to build as much as an 11-point lead.

Nebraska (16-12) lost in the first round of the Big 12 tournament for the fifth straight season. The Cornhuskers still could play again, likely in the NIT for the first time since 1999.

Lavender made 7-of-10 shots after halftime, when the Sooners shot 55 percent (16 of 29).

Jason Detrick added 16 points for the Sooners, who play No. 11 Texas in quarterfinal game Friday night.

Even after going nearly 11 minutes without a field goal, Nebraska was within 54-48 when Corey Simms made a layup with six minutes left. The Huskers got within four in the final minute before Brandon Foust made two huge defensive plays for the Sooners.

Foust got tied up with Nate Johnson in the Nebraska end, giving the ball back to Oklahoma on alternate possession with 50 seconds left. After Lavender missed a free throw, Marcus Neal missed a shot for the Huskers, and Foust got the rebound before missing his own free throw.

Johnson's miss with 19 seconds left was rebounded by De'Angelo Alexander, who managed to call timeout before falling out of bounds.

Simms led Nebraska with 14 points. John Turek had 10 points, but had just a pair of free throws after scoring the first eight points for the Huskers.

Turek scored the game's first six points, and the Huskers built as much as a 15-point lead before Oklahoma's second-half comeback.

Nebraska extended its early lead with a 9-2 run, going ahead 20-11 on Turek's free throw that came just after a turnover by Lavender led to Charles Richardson's behind-the-back bounce pass to Simms for a layup.

The closest the Sooners got before halftime was 25-17, on Lavender's free throw with 3:52 left after he stole a pass. Nebraska then had an 8-2 spurt that included a pair of 3-pointers by Brian Conklin for his only points.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Defeat Nebraska, 63-59, in Opening Round of Big 12 Tournament

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