Carter Scores 15 as OU Rolls, 78-54

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma basketball coach Jeff Capel has become accustomed to strong defensive efforts from the Sooners. He received an added bonus on Wednesday night -- a productive offense.

Nate Carter came off the bench to score 15 points and grab eight rebounds as the Sooners routed Colorado 78-54 on Wednesday in their Big 12 Conference home opener, giving Capel his first Big 12 win.

Oklahoma (9-5, 1-1 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak. The Sooners have beaten Colorado (4-8, 0-2) 22 straight times at the Lloyd Noble Center, a streak that dates to February 1980.

Carter, a senior, has 28 points and 17 rebounds in the Sooners' two league games. Freshman Tony Crocker, who entered the game with a 10.9-point scoring average, had 16 points and eight rebounds, and point guard Austin Johnson added 10 points for Oklahoma.

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"I just wanted to come out and help the team and play as hard as I could no matter what," Carter said. "Starting or coming off the bench does not matter to me."

Oklahoma scored 55 and 54 points, respectively, in recent losses to Alabama and Texas Tech. Against Colorado, the Sooners shot just over 44 percent from the field and went 25-of-34 from the free-throw line.

"It's good to see the ball go into the basket," Capel said. "Our defense has been pretty adequate the past few games, but we really struggled making shots. We got those same looks tonight, but today we finished them. When you make shots, your offense looks a lot better. We made some shots today, and hopefully that ignites us as we move forward."

The Sooners controlled the basketball game on the defensive end, holding the Buffaloes to five points in the first 8:18. Colorado's final point total was about 17 below its previous season average.

Oklahoma also harassed the Buffaloes into 25 turnovers -- stepping into passing lanes for 14 steals -- and blocked three shots.

The loss was Colorado's fourth in five games. It's the eighth time in Big 12 history that the Buffaloes have started league play 0-2.

"We were panicking too much," Colorado's Richard Roby said. "We got into the trap, and we just put the ball over our heads and picked up our dribbles. The bad part about our turnovers was that they resulted in a lot of Oklahoma layups and transition points."

After scoring 30 points in Colorado's last game, against Texas, Roby scored 20 points against Oklahoma but grabbed only one rebound. Freshman forward Jeremy Williams had eight points to go with 12 rebounds for the Buffaloes.

The Sooners never trailed, jumping out to a 16-5 lead early behind five early points from Carter.

A layup by Dwight Thorne and a 3-pointer by Roby pulled the Buffaloes to within two points with just over four minutes left in the first half. Carter responded with a short jumper and Crocker took a charge on Colorado's next possession, then hit two free throws to extend the Sooners' lead.

Oklahoma ended the half on a 13-4 run and led 37-26 at halftime.

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