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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Stick an asterisk next to the line where
it says No. 16 Oklahoma had the lowest-scoring half in Big 12 tournament
history.
The gritty Sooners won anyway.
|  | | Oklahoma players, from left, Johnnie Gilbert, Tim Heskett, and Nolan Johnson raise the Big 12 championship trophy after the Sooners beat Texas in the tournament final. |
Recovering from an 18-point deficit and their own record
futility, Kelvin Sampson's team held Texas (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) to just three field
goals in the second half en route to a 54-45 victory Sunday in a
title game filled with wild swings in momentum.
"The first half made me sick," Sampson said. "Texas is good.
Our mental toughness had to pick up."
Texas (25-8) lost the lead for good when tournament MVP Nolan
Johnson, on a good pass from Kelley Newton, hit a layup and
completed a three-point play that put the Sooners up 48-45 with
1:44 left.
"In the first half, we were going with our game plan," Texas
guard Darren Kelly said. "And then we got away from that. We got
stagnant and thought we should make plays as individuals. I don't
think it had anything to do with Oklahoma's pressure at all. It was
all about what we did."
Texas, which led 26-8 late in the first half, had no field goals
in the final 11 minutes.
The Sooners (26-6), who made 13 of their last 14 free throws
while beating Kansas in the semifinals, kept Texas at bay by going
15-of-16 down the stretch to complete the comeback.
"We knew it was going to be a game where baskets are hard to
come by," said coach Rick Barnes of Texas, which had won eight in
a row. "We weren't strong enough to the ball."
The Sooners were 6-for-28 from the field in the first half,
scoring only 14 points. They missed 10 of their first 11 shots
before Hollis Price connected on a 3-pointer, then missed their
next nine shots.
Fifteen seconds later, Maurice Evans made a 3-pointer that gave
Texas a 26-8 lead.
Then the Sooners started their comeback with baskets by Johnson,
Newton and Daryan Selvy in a 6-0 run that had them trailing only
26-14 at halftime.
"The momentum changed to us the last minute of the first
half," Price said. "We got some stops and then we got some shots
down."
Price drilled a 3-pointer, and Johnson stole a pass and drove in
for a dunk as the Sooners outscored the Longhorns 7-0 to start the
second half. Texas was without a field goal until Evans hit a
3-pointer four minutes into the second half.
After Johnson's layup sliced the Texas lead to 32-31, Selvy
stole a pass and drove in for a behind-the-back dunk that gave the
Sooners their first lead and brought the pro-Oklahoma crowd roaring
to its feet.
Chris Owens hit a 10-foot jumper for the Longhorns' third field
goal of the half with 3:28 left, tying it 45-all.
Oklahoma got 12 points each from Selvy and Price.
Owens had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots,
tying Chris Mihm's school season record of 90.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Texas Clubhouse
Oklahoma Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Nolan Johnson gets the hoop and the foul capping the OU comeback.
avi: 1325 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Daryan Selvy hauls in the long rebound and takes it the other way for the reverse jam
avi: 1150 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Nolan Johnson steps in front of the pass and drives to the hole for the dunk.
avi: 635 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Fredie Williams steps up and drains the 3-pointer as the shot clock expires.
avi: 1261 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Kelvin Sampson and the Sooners overcome the odds to win the Big 12 championship.
wav: 404 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Nolan Johnson credits the heart of his teammates for their second-half surge.
wav: 356 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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