Jan 28, 2004

Box Score | Notes

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas - Jason Detrick had 15 points to lead a balanced Oklahoma scoring attack and the No. 25 Sooners beat Baylor for the 19th straight time, 78-67 Wednesday night.

Detrick and Lawrence McKenzie led a decisive 14-2 run early in the second half for the Sooners (12-4, 2-3 Big 12), who have consecutive wins after a four-game losing streak that almost knocked them out of the Top 25.

Oklahoma is down to nine players after Kevin Bookout's decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. Only one of them didn't score, and the rest had at least eight points as the Big 12's worst shooting team made half of its shots (24 of 48).

McKenzie had 11 points and 5-foot-7 freshman Drew Lavender had 10 for the Sooners, who shot just 39 percent in their first four Big 12 games.

Still, beating Baylor doesn't exactly qualify as a quality win. The Bears (6-12, 1-4) have just seven scholarship players and have lost six of seven games.

The Sooners' longest losing streak in five seasons almost dropped them out of the Top 25 for the first time in 45 polls. But they fell only five spots, and not all the way out this week, after ending the drought with a 61-49 win over Kansas State on Saturday.

Baylor was within 33-26 early in the second half before Detrick had consecutive baskets to start the game-turning run. His second basket was a one-handed slam after grabbing his own rebound and driving the lane.

McKenzie then scored eight points in just over three minutes. He had a pair of 3-pointers before his layup that made it 47-28 with 12:55 left, and Baylor didn't get closer than 10 points until the final half-minute.

The Bears are 0-17 against Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, and their last win over the Sooners was Dec 6, 1977.

Harvey Thomas led Baylor with 19 points. Terrance Thomas had 18.

Oklahoma never trailed after Lavender's 3-pointer five minutes in made it 9-6, but the Sooners didn't put the game away until the second half surge.

Even when the Bears went almost five minutes without scoring, the Sooners only led 14-8. The only Oklahoma points in that stretch were Johnnie Gilbert's tip-in and a 3-pointer by Jaison Williams, who got the ball back right after his great save.

Williams chased a loose ball, then avoided a backcourt violation by jumping into the air to grab the ball. He threw it back to a teammate before his feet touched the ground, and a couple of passes later made his shot from the top of the key.

The Sooners had a 31-21 halftime lead after Jabahri Brown made a layup and added a free throw with 2.8 seconds left. Brown opened the second-half scoring with an quick basket, and Baylor then scored five straight points before Oklahoma's game-turning spurt.

Oklahoma is 74-12 against Texas teams under in 10 seasons under Sampson, including 58-12 against the state's four Big 12 teams: Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.