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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- On the wings of 3-pointers, Oklahoma moved
on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners were 10-of-21 from long range Thursday while
Winthrop clanked shot after shot off the rim in a miserable
shooting performance as third-seeded Oklahoma rolled to a 74-50
victory.
|  | | Oklahoma's Jameel Heywood drives against Winthrop's Eyo Effiong. |
Oklahoma's Eduardo Najera managed just 10 points, nearly nine
below his average, in 28 foul-plagued minutes, but that hardly
mattered as four other Sooners scored in double figures.
"We've got a complete team," reserve guard Tim Heskett said.
"We've got an All-American in Eduardo and people sit on him, but
we've got so many weapons besides him. People overlook us a lot."
Oklahoma will face sixth-seeded Purdue in the second round
Saturday. Purdue beat Dayton 62-61.
First-year guards J.R. Raymond and Hollis Price carried the
offense in the first half, as the Sooners built a 39-23 lead at the
break. Raymond scored 11 of 14 of his points in the first 20
minutes and finished 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Price added 10,
also all in the first half.
In the second half, Heskett was 4-for-4 from 3-point range to
finish with 12 points. Nolan Johnson also had 12 for the Sooners
(27-6).
"I thought our guards would match up a little better,"
Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall said. "We normally had a hand in
their face, but they knocked down shots."
Winthrop, seeded 14th, shot just 26 percent (15-for-56),
2-for-20 on 3-pointers.
"They played shirt-to-shirt, smothering defense," Marshall
said. "Give Oklahoma a lot of credit."
The Eagles had held opponents to just 39 percent shooting this
season, but the Sooners shot 51 percent.
Greg Lewis scored 21 for the Eagles (21-9), making their second
consecutive tournament appearance, and second straight first-round
exit.
"Our team defense was great," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson
said. "We defended the 3-point line well and made Lewis go left.
Our help defense was good and our half-court defense was
tremendous."
Winthrop point guard Tyson Waterman, the Big South player of the
year the last two seasons, made just one of 10 shots and was
0-for-8 on 3-pointers against the tight defense of Price.
"That's a really good backcourt," Waterman said. "I rarely
got any open looks. I was usually forcing things."
Price sank an 18-footer and Raymond followed with a 3-pointer to
ignite a 17-5 surge that put Oklahoma up 25-12 with 8:34 left in
the first half. Price's 3-pointer with 1:45 to play gave the
Sooners their biggest lead of the half, 38-21.
Lewis' offensive rebound and consecutive baskets by Eyo Effiong
cut Oklahoma's lead to 46-33 with 15:02 to play. But consecutive
3-pointers by Heskett capped a 13-5 run that put the Sooners up
59-38 with 10:41 remaining.
"Defense was the key to this game," Raymond said. "We came
out and shot down their perimeter, and it helped us the entire
game. We set the tone early on and didn't give them any breathing
room."
Oklahoma, which made just 5-of-20 3-pointers in its loss to Iowa
State in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament, advanced
to the round of 16 last season. Sampson is 2-9 at McKale Center.
His only other victory there was in 1988 in the now-defunct Pac-10
tournament when he was at Washington State.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Winthrop Clubhouse
Oklahoma Clubhouse
Chat: NCAA Tourney
Purdue grounds Flyers for 7th straight first-round win
Deja vu: Gonzaga upends No. 7 seed Louisville
Second seed St. John's avoids Lumberjacks' ax
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