Sooners Blow Out Bears, 91-51

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- In the course of two weeks, Nate Carter has gone from bust to best, at least when it comes to Oklahoma's offensive fortunes.

Carter scored a season-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help power Oklahoma to a 91-51 win over Baylor on Saturday. The win improved the Sooners to 21-0 against the Bears since the two schools became part of the Big 12 Conference in 1996.

Oklahoma (11-6, 3-2 Big 12 Conference) outscored the Bears 31-9 over the final 11 minutes of the opening half, turning an 18-14 deficit into a 45-27 halftime lead.

Making only his third start of the basketball season, Carter, a senior forward, scored 14 points in the first half, including eight of the Sooners' first 12 points.

Stats | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery | Video Highlights

"I was trying to get in (the paint) and be aggressive," said Carter, who finished 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. "I'm just playing extremely hard and I'm taking it one game at a time."

Great things were expected from the 6-foot-6 Carter when he arrived at Oklahoma as a transfer from California-Riverside, where he was voted Big West Conference Freshman of the Year after the 2002-03 season. During two seasons at UC-Riverside, Carter averaged almost 16 points and six rebounds a game.

After sitting out a season, Carter struggled to find his game last season. He averaged only 6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in a reserve role, and experienced similar success through the first 11 games this season.

But once the Sooners began Big 12 play, Carter began to make a major impact. Over the last five games, the San Diego native is averaging 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

"Nate has really stepped up for us the last few games. He's playing aggressive and playing with a lot of confidence," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. "We've known what Nate is capable of doing. It was just a matter of him making it happen.

"Today, he forced the action with some strong play inside and that set the tone for us offensively, and opened some things on the perimeter."

Baylor (11-7, 1-4) started quickly behind the play of Aaron Bruce, who scored 10 of his 12 points during the first seven minutes. The Bears led by as many as eight before Oklahoma began methodically chipping away behind Carter inside and an attacking man-to-man defense.

Oklahoma used a 19-2 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 33-20 lead with just over five minutes left in the half.

"Give Oklahoma lot of credit on both ends of the floor. We were in tune (early) and really played well," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "But it looked like we were moving in quicksand the rest of the game."

Michael Neal ended any comeback hopes the Bears still harbored by making consecutive 3-pointers early in the second half. The senior guard finished with 16 points, which included a 4-of-7 performance from 3-point range.

The Sooners, who shot 57.6 percent from the field, dominated the Bears by a 42-30 margin on the glass.

A pair of Carter free throws gave the Sooners the lead for good at 21-20 and he added a 3-point play one possession later. David Godbold followed with a 3-pointer and a driving bucket by Taylor Griffin capped the decisive 19-2 run.

Curtis Jerrells led the Bears with 15 points, including a dozen in the second half, long after the outcome had been decided. Baylor shot just 31.9 percent from the field and only 12-of-22 from the free-throw line.

Bobby Maze came off the bench to score 14 points for the Sooners, while center Longar Longar returned to action after serving a two-game suspension and scored 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

"Michael Neal shot the ball well and Bobby Maze did a very good job for us coming off of the bench," Capel said. "Our defense created some easy baskets for us and we were able to get out in transition."

Next Event

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics