The Oklahoman
�We had it!� Lavender said to no one in particular.
Not quite. OU�s upset bid ended Friday like its season soon might:
Just short.
As 18,057 watched at American Airlines Center, Texas rallied from a 12-point deficit, took the lead in the final minute and escaped with a 66-63 victory.
The No. 2-seeded Longhorns moved into the Big 12 Tournament semifinals today. After losing to Texas (22-6) for the third time this season, the seventh-seeded Sooners (19-10) aren�t sure where they�re headed next.
�I just hope we get in,� said Alexander, referring to the NCAA Tournament.
The selections won�t be made until Sunday. But OU�s NCAA hopes might have vanished in the final stretch Friday.
OU led by 12 on Larry Turner�s free throws with 7:09 left. But the Sooners managed just two field goals in the last nine minutes. And after Brandon Mouton gave Texas the lead with 26.8 seconds left, OU missed two chances to win or tie in the waning seconds.
�We just had a hard time hanging on down the stretch,� said OU coach Kelvin Sampson, who declined to discuss the Sooners� NCAA prospects. �A bounce here, make a free throw there. This was a game Oklahoma could have won.�
Instead, the Sooners faded.
OU led by nine at halftime after hitting 52 percent in the first half. Despite hitting just 6-of-26 second-half shots (23.1 percent), the Sooners fought off several Texas rallies.
But OU limped toward the finish with foul trouble and without timeouts. Two players fouled out. And of six remaining players, three finished with four fouls.
Thus, OU tried to milk the clock on each possession, attempting to rest players and inch toward the final buzzer.
�Foul trouble, fatigue, attrition,� said Sampson of the strategy. �Or go with �D: All of the above.��
Lavender and sometimes Jason Detrick dribbled near midcourt for much of the 35-second clock, then penetrated and looked for a shot.
The strategy resulted in just one basket, Detrick�s driving 4-footer with 3:15 left that pushed OU up 61-59. More often, the Sooners flung a desperation shot just before the shot clock expired.
�We was playing not to lose instead of playing to win,� Lavender said. �We tried to run down the clock, run down the clock.�