Sooner Trio Pushes OU Past Tech

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - After an elbowing incident last month, Texas Tech coach Bob Knight didn't think Longar Longar should get to play again this season.

The Oklahoma center saved the best game of his career for his next performance in front of NCAA Division I basketball's career wins leader.

Nate Carter scored 24 points and Longar had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Oklahoma to a 75-61 win against Texas Tech on Saturday night.

"This was the first really big game where he's played well, and I thought he had a dominating performance tonight," Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said.

It was Longar's fourth double-double of the season and his first since he was suspended for two games after elbowing Tech's Esmir Rizvic in the team's meeting in Lubbock last month.

Knight suggested after that Jan. 6 game that Longar shouldn't be allowed to play again because Rizvic sustained a fractured eye socket on the play, on which Longar was reversing the ball with his elbows up high.

"I hope they're not using putting a kid in the hospital with reconstructive facial surgery, out for the season, as motivation," said Tech assistant Pat Knight, who attended Tech's postgame news conference in place of his father. "I'm hoping he's just motivated because it's a Big 12 game, playing against Texas Tech.

"One hand you've got a two-game suspension, the other hand you've got reconstructive facial surgery and out for the season."

Capel and the Sooners insisted their motivation was avenging the 68-54 loss to Tech last month, and not Longar's situation.

"The whole team was ready," Longar said. "We didn't make a it a personal thing about me or anything."

A junior center, Longar had his highest scoring output ever against a Big 12 Conference foe and wound up one rebound shy of tying his career high. He was rewarded with a bear hug from Capel and a standing ovation from the crowd when he was removed with 24.2 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma (13-8, 4-4 Big 12) scored the final 13 points to pull away. The teams had never been separated by more than five points until the final three minutes.

"This was a big win for our basketball team for a lot of reasons," Capel said. "I know Longar, a lot's been made about what happened the last time we played them. First and foremost, that was no motivation for us. We didn't come out saying we wanted to do it just because of that."

Michael Neal added 18 points for Oklahoma, which outrebounded Tech 38-27. Knight fell to 1-6 against the Sooners in Norman.

Jay Jackson tied his season high with 31 points and Martin Zeno added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Tech (15-8, 4-4), which has lost three in a row since beating top-10 foes Kansas and Texas A&M in back-to-back games in Lubbock.

The Red Raiders were up 59-55 after Charlie Burgess beat Oklahoma's defense for a layup in transition and then completed the 3-point play with 6:53 left.

Neal came back with a 3-pointer for Oklahoma, and Longar hit one free throw each on back-to-back trips to the foul line to put the Sooners back ahead 60-59. Neal then added two foul shots to make it a three-point cushion.

Longar skied to swat Jackson's runner on Tech's next possession, but the ball went straight to Zeno and he hit a jumper from the left side. Those were the last points the Red Raiders would score. Carter and Longar combined to score the next eight points from the free-throw line.

Jackson missed his final five shots, beginning with the one swatted by Longar, to finish 12-for-25.

Longar's double-double was his first ever in Big 12 play.

Entering this season, more than one-fifth of Longar's total scoring had come in a 27-point performance against outmanned Florida A&M his freshman season. He'd totaled 100 points in his other 49 career outings.

The 6-foot-11 center originally from the Sudan then started out the season strong against weaker nonconference foes but appeared to take a step back after the elbowing incident.

"I'm really proud of him. He's a guy that a lot of people have a lot of things to say about, and they're not always good things to say," Capel said.

The Sooners appealed Longar's suspension, and even Big 12 commissioner Kevin Weiberg said the incident was accidental _ but still merited him sitting out.

"I don't think there ever should have been a question about Longar's character. ... He's one of the nicest, most mild-mannered individuals you'll ever meet. Well-spoken, just humble and just really wants to be a good basketball player," Capel said. "He finally got his opportunity this year."

Billy Tubbs, who was 333-132 as the Sooners' coach from 1981-1994 and guided Oklahoma to the 1988 national title game, was honored during a halftime ceremony.

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