Thomas Leads Sooners Past Albany
March 20, 2015
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| Quick Stats |
ALB |
OKLA |
| Points |
60 |
69 |
| FG Made - Attempted |
23-61 |
25-57 |
| FG Percentage |
.377 |
.439 |
| 3PT Made - Attempted |
8-25 |
7-24 |
| 3PT Percentage |
.320 |
.292 |
| FT Made - Attempted |
6-10 |
12-16 |
| FT Percentage |
.600 |
.750 |
| Rebounds |
34 |
40 |
| Turnovers |
7 |
9 |
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| Statistical Leaders |
| Albany |
Pts |
Rbs |
Asst |
St |
Blk |
| Peter Hooley |
15 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| Sam Rowley |
12 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
| Oklahoma |
Pts |
Rbs |
Asst |
St |
Blk |
| TaShawn Thomas |
18 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
| Buddy Hield |
15 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - TaShawn Thomas powered his way to 18 points inside and versatile Buddy Hield added 15 to lead third-seeded Oklahoma past Albany on Friday night, carrying the Sooners into the Round of 32 after early exits the last two years.
The Sooners (23-10) led wire to wire, advancing to play on Sunday against the winner of the late game between Dayton and Providence.
Peter Hooley had 15 points, Evan Singletary 13, Sam Rowley 12 and Ray Sanders 11 for No. 14-seeded Albany (24-8), regular season and tournament champs of the America East Conference.
The Sooners were trying to not only end their troubling first-game failures the last two years but also to defend the honor of their conference. On Thursday, fellow No. 3 seeds and Big 12 Conference members Iowa State and Baylor both were eliminated in their first games.
The Great Danes came in with the reputation of being a dangerous 3-point shooting team, in part because Hooley hit a dramatic 3 at the buzzer to send them into the NCAAs in the conference finale.
But Oklahoma proved it could pump it up from outside, too, hitting 7 of 24 behind the arc to the Great Danes' 8 of 25.
Albany, down by as many as 10 in the opening half, got as close as five points twice early in the second half. The Great Danes drew to 60-54 on a 3 from the left corner by Singletary with 3:53 left.
The Sooners came down and found trouble when a pass was tipped and the shot clock sank into single digits. But Isaiah Cousins splashed in a 3 with 2 seconds left to avoid a violation with 3:18 remaining.
They played keep-away with the lead from there, Thomas scoring on a tip-in and the Sooners adding four free throws.
Oklahoma, which lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 title game, was bigger and broader under the basket, but also blended in a mix of transition points and perimeter shooting with its brawn. They held a 40-34 rebounding edge and had just nine turnovers.
A 7-1 run gave the Sooners an early lead and they expanded it to 37-28 at halftime.
Hield had 9 points doing a little bit of everything - scoring on an offensive board, hitting a mid-range jumper, getting behind the defense - while Thomas muscled inside to match him with 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.