March 6, 2004
Box Score
By JOEL ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. - Freshman Lawrence McKenzie hit a pair of free throws with 21.4 seconds left and Jaison Williams made a steal on the next possession, helping Oklahoma avert a loss that would have been disastrous to its NCAA tournament hopes with a 46-41 victory over Baylor on Saturday.
Oklahoma (18-9, 8-8) will probably still need a win or two in next week's Big 12 tournament to clinch an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament. The Sooners, who will be the seventh seed, will face Kansas State in the first round.
The victory, however, showed just how far the three-time defending Big 12 tournament champions have fallen this season.
The Sooners almost lost to the Bears (8-21, 3-13), who have only seven scholarship players, despite forcing 18 turnovers, outrebounding them 36-24 and playing before a crowd anticipating an easy victory on Senior Day.
Freshman Drew Lavender led the Sooners with 10 points.
Oklahoma was again without senior center Jabahri Brown, who was suspended indefinitely after being charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia .
Brown sat on the bench during the game, wearing a black suit with a beige shirt. He clapped his hands and encouraged his teammates throughout. Many of the Sooners scribbled Brown's uniform number - 21 - on their sneakers.
The Bears would've qualified for the Big 12 tournament had they been allowed to go - a credit to first-year coach Scott Drew.
The Bears almost pulled off its biggest win of the year in the finale.
Baylor went on a 14-2 run to open the second half, taking a 32-22 lead on Terrance Thomas' soaring layup along the baseline with about 13 minutes left.
From there, however, Oklahoma controlled the pace of the game.
The Sooners pounded the undersized Bears on the boards, and slowly whittled away at the deficit. McKenzie tied the game at 33-all on a scoop layup with 8:28 to go.
Oklahoma took its first lead since the early minutes of the second half, 40-39, on Jason Detrick's 3-pointer with 2:45 left.
Thomas pulled Baylor within 42-41 on another layup with 41.7 seconds to go, but McKenzie's free throws sealed the victory for Oklahoma.
