Coppin State Coppin St/Oklahoma Oklahoma Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Newton had a career-high 26 points and Ronnie Griffin added 18 to lead Oklahoma (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) past Coppin State 103-49 Saturday night.

The 54-point victory margin is also the largest by a Kelvin Sampson-coached Oklahoma team. The Sooners' 94-41 win over Mount St. Mary's last season was previously the largest margin.

The loss was the worst in Coppin State's history.

Newton hit 8 of 11 3-pointers, the first of which sparked a 15-0 Oklahoma run to open the game.

"Kelley is capable of that," Sampson said. "He's a senior and he's playing like a senior. He was shooting with a lot of confidence and he was a big factor tonight."

Griffin, making only his second start, scored eight points during a pivotal three-minute stretch after Coppin State had cut the lead to 17-10.

"We don't really have a fifth starter and we've been looking for one all season," said Sampson, whose team outrebounded the Eagles 41-26. "Ronnie is getting his opportunity. He's come a long way since Thanksgiving. His focus is better and it showed tonight."

A sparse holiday crowd at the Lloyd Noble Center was treated to an opening 20 minutes of big runs, most of which came from the Sooners (7-1).

Oklahoma extended the floor with a swarming man-to-man defense that created 17 first-half turnovers and numerous fastbreak baskets.

"I was pleased with our defending and rebounding," Sampson said. "Our conversion from defense to offense was also very good. This team is very unselfish and you could see that tonight."

When Griffin finished off a three-on-one break at the 8:12 mark, the Sooners led 30-12 over the outmanned Eagles (4-4). A bucket and a free throw by Daryan Selvy capped a 19-4 run and made it 36-14.

Newton followed with three more 3-pointers over the next five minutes to help the Sooners take a 51-23 halftime lead.

Nolan Johnson chipped in with 11 first-half points and finished with 17. Selvy scored 15 points, while point guard Hollis Price had nine assists and four steals.

The Eagles, who turned the ball over 29 times and shot just 39.6 percent from the field, were paced by Joe Brown's 18 points and 14 from Larry Tucker.

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Coppin State Clubhouse

Oklahoma Clubhouse