Longar's 20 Points Leads OU by SMU

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- When Oklahoma basketball coach Jeff Capel arrived in Norman in the spring, Longar Longar had little confidence or desire to play for the Sooners.

"When I first got here, he was thinking about transferring," Capel said.

Just 11 games into Capel's first season, however, Longar doesn't have that problem anymore. The 6-11 junior center scored 20 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds -- his third career double-double -- on Thursday night as Oklahoma's dominant early season defensive run continued with a 69-42 win over Southern Methodist.

Oklahoma (8-3) has won four straight games and held six opponents to 48 points or less. Entering the game, the Sooners had held their opponents to an average of 54.9 points a game.

The Sooners snapped SMU's seven-game winning streak, the Mustangs' longest since the 1999-2000 season. SMU (9-2) failed in its first attempt to give coach Matt Doherty his 100th career win. Doherty previously coached at North Carolina and Florida Atlantic.

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The already-thin Sooners might have lost forward Keith Clark, a key freshman reserve, to a first-half knee injury. Clark said tests will be performed on the knee Friday to determine the nature of the injury.

Oklahoma freshman guard Tony Crocker finished with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. Two layups by Crocker and a dunk and free throw by Longar ended a 20-5 run by the Sooners to open the game, and SMU never caught up, although guard Jon Killen nearly brought the Mustangs back by scoring 10 of their first 18 points.

After Killen completed a 3-point play to bring SMU to within six points, Longar stepped out and hit a long two-pointer. On the next possession, he grabbed a rebound and then nearly capped off a stellar stretch with a drive and assist _ except Michael Neal rimmed out a wide open 3-point attempt.

"The biggest difference maker that they have is Longar Longar," Doherty said. "He can catch. He can score. He can step out and shoot it a little bit. He is a very good passer out of the post. He is a difference maker for them. He makes them a team that can be a very competitive team in the Big 12.

"Tonight was disappointing. This was one of the worst losses that I have been a part of. I don't mind losing a ball game. If you are in a fight, I would at least like to throw a punch. We didn't throw any punches. I thought the only guy that had a little fight in him was Jon Killen. Other than that, we got our butts whipped, especially inside."

With the Sooners ahead by 16 points early in the second half, Longar ended any hopes the Mustangs had with an emphatic dunk off of an inbounds pass from freshman guard Bobby Maze. Oklahoma shot 53.1 percent from the field.

"Yesterday was probably Longar's worst day of practice, and I really, really got after him," Capel said. "When I took him out of the game I hugged him and told him I was really proud of him because of how he responded, because he responded in a big way."

Pearson led SMU with 15 points, while Killen scored 11 and Donatas Rackauskas added 10 points and eight rebounds. The Mustangs shot 30 percent from the field.

Former Oklahoma forward John McCullough, the 1979 Big Eight Conference Player of the Year, was recognized at halftime in conjunction with the Sooners' celebration of their 100th season of basketball. McCullough is now the head women's coach for Oklahoma Baptist of the NAIA.

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