MBB: Back in Time No. 4

July 2, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. - Each Monday through August, SoonerSports.com will take you back in time with the OU men's basketball program as we highlight some of the biggest games and biggest names from the 1970s, '80s, '90s and 2000s.

The fourth installment highlights a January 1989 contest against UNLV in Las Vegas. Billy Tubbs' Oklahoma squad was ranked fourth in the country while the Runnin' Rebels were ranked 13th. Could Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King lead OU to a victory over Jerry Tarkanian's crew for the second time of the season?

The pair of seniors definitely gave it their all...

Jan. 28, 1989
No. 4 Oklahoma at No. 13 UNLV | Box Score

Even a bum index finger on his shooting hand couldn't keep Stacey King from opening the biggest of birthday presents on a Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas in January 1989.

Playing with three screws and 11 stitches in his finger, and wearing a protective plastic splint that King and OU trainer Alex Brown called "The Corndog," the smooth left-handed center scored 48 points the day before his 22nd birthday in a 90-88 win at 13th-ranked UNLV. The victory gave the fourth-ranked Sooners the No. 1 national ranking two days later.

1989 OU vs. UNLV Video Highlights

Oklahoma, which edged UNLV 83-81 earlier in the season in the Maui Classic, celebrated in the locker room with boxing heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson following the game. UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian, meanwhile, was left shaking his head.

"King just killed us," lamented Tarkanian more than once. "I don't think he missed a shot, did he?" He missed a few, just not many. The senior was 17-of-24 from the field, scored 17 of OU's first 25 points and had 28 by halftime. His 20-point second-half performance wasn't too shabby, either.

"I figured I was due for a big game," said King. "I was playing okay lately, but I wasn't playing by Stacey King standards. I knew it was time to do something."

King and the Sooners were aided by the play of another senior - Mookie Blaylock. All the guard did was score 23 points before slamming the door on the Runnin' Rebels on the game's final play.

After an OU turnover gave the ball to UNLV with 10 seconds left, Blaylock, the NCAA's steals leader, stepped in front of an Anderson Hunt pass intended for Clint Rossum to regain possession with two ticks remaining. Game over.

Said Tarkanian, "Blaylock made some great, great, great plays and never tired. I thought maybe at the end he would at least get tired. He didn't."

More than 19,000 fans and 32 professional scouts were in attendance at the Thomas and Mack Center for King's stellar performance. His 48 points were the most by a collegiate player in the building's history and still stand as the fourth most ever by a Sooner (Wayman Tisdale holds OU's top three individual scoring marks).

Oklahoma's largest lead of the game was at 42-33 late in the first half. With the lead down to one, junior William Davis nailed a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to give OU a 51-47 lead.

The Rebels took their biggest lead at 72-68 with 11:12 remaining in the game. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Blaylock scored four quick points and King added two.

OU's win improved its record to 17-2 while UNLV dropped to 14-4.

Notes: Stacey King (48) and Mookie Blaylock (23) combined to score 71 of OU's 90 points (Tyrone Jones and Terrence Mullins both netted seven) ... King and Blaylock both played the entire contest ... UNLV lost despite making 12-of-25 3-point attempts (.480) ... Freshman Anderson Hunt was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and scored a game-high 22 points for the Rebels while Stacey Augmon added 17 ... The game was nationally televised by NBC with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire announcing.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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