Late Trey Scores Win for OU, 45-44

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Terrell Everett saved No. 22 Oklahoma from another narrow Big 12 loss.

Everett hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left Saturday to help the Sooners avoid an 0-3 start in the league with a 45-44 victory over Texas A&M.

The Sooners (10-4, 1-2) had lost their first two conference games by a total of three points, with both decided in the closing seconds.

``I know I can say it feels better,'' said Everett, who scored 15 points. ``We were just trying to play smarter. We just tried to tough it out.''

Taj Gray added 13 points for the Sooners, who beat A&M for the 13th straight time and 24th in 25 meetings.

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They shot only 41 percent (16-of-39) and were outrebounded 31-29 - just the second time this season Oklahoma has been beaten on the boards - but still stole a critical victory leading into a seven-day break before their next game.

``This was really important,'' Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. ``We could be 0-3, if Terrell doesn't hit that shot. But we could easily be 3-0, too. It was good to win this game and have a week off.''

Acie Law scored 14 points for the Aggies (11-3, 1-2), who lost for the first time in 12 home games this season.

The Aggies went 5 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but consecutive 3-pointers by Chris Walker gave them a 42-40 lead heading into the last 3 minutes.

Gray was called for an offensive foul near the 1-minute mark and Law dribbled patiently as the shot clock wound down on A&M's ensuing possession. Walker got the ball near the top of the key and found Marlon Pompey for a fadeaway jumper just before the shot clock expired.

Everett scored on a pull-up jumper with 25 seconds left to quickly quiet the rowdy crowd at Reed Arena.

``It just felt good shooting the ball,'' Everett said.

Pompey missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 17 seconds to go and Everett coolly swished the go-ahead 3 from the wing. Sampson was glad Everett took the shot, even though he's Oklahoma's fourth-leading scorer and came into the game shooting only 25 percent from 3-point range.

``Sometimes, you have to know when a guy is feeling it,'' Sampson said. ``You could just tell - for some reason, he got his hop back.''

Joseph Jones drove the length of the floor at the end, but slipped in the lane as he attempted a layup at the buzzer. The play was designed to go to Law.

``They did a good job of denying me the ball,'' Law said. ``He (Jones) just didn't make the play.''

The Aggies finished 17-of-46 from the field (37 percent), including 6-of-19 from 3-point range.

A&M plays its next two games on the road before hosting Kansas on Jan. 25, leaving little time to dwell on Saturday's bitter loss.

``We have a lot of character on our team,'' Walker said. ``What we pride ourselves on is being tough. I'm not worried about us bouncing back. We'll get this out of our system tonight.''

Oklahoma went 12 minutes without a field goal in the first half and was lucky to trail only 22-17 at the break.

The Sooners committed 13 turnovers in the opening half and shot almost as poorly from the field (5-of-15) as they did from the free throw line (6-of-15).

The Aggies, meanwhile, played most of the first half without Jones, their leading scorer, who picked up two early fouls and didn't play again until the second half.

``Our bread and butter is getting the ball to Joe,'' Walker said. ``We had to make some adjustments.''

Oklahoma's offense finally started to look better 5 minutes into the second half.

Kevin Bookout scored inside to start a 13-3 burst and Everett's fadeaway with 8:04 left gave Oklahoma a 37-34 lead.

``The second half, we did a great job of running our stuff,'' Sampson said. ``We had great movement, we set great screens.''

Jones had a putback and a free throw during the spurt, but the rest of the Aggies missed eight straight shots.

The Sooners led 40-36 when Walker swished a 3-pointer from the corner with 4:38 left, the Aggies' first 3-pointer in 12 minutes. Walker sneaked to an opening on the wing a minute later and hit another 3-pointer to put the Aggies up by two.

They couldn't hold the lead, though, losing for only the fourth time in 32 home games under second-year coach Billy Gillispie.

``We're in the Big 12 and this is just the way games are,'' Gillispie said. ``Preparation is easy, but converting is hard. We were right there. We just have to convert.''

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