No. 21 Oklahoma 75, Alcorn State 56

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Aaron McGhee put his pregame stomach problems aside and put on a shooting display for Oklahoma. <br><br>McGhee excused himself from warmups to tend to an upset stomach but made his

Saturday, November 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Aaron McGhee put his pregame stomach problems aside and put on a shooting display for Oklahoma.

McGhee excused himself from warmups to tend to an upset stomach but made his first seven shots as No. 21 Oklahoma beat Alcorn State 75-56 in the opening round of the Sooner Invitational on Friday night.

``I don't know if it was nerves, but my stomach started bubbling during warmups,'' said McGhee, who shot 11-for-20 from the field. ``Once I got out there and into the flow, I started to feel a whole lot better.''

McGhee scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half and helped stake the Sooners to a 35-27 halftime lead.

The Sooners used a balanced attack to finish off Alcorn State.

Relentless pressure defense forced Alcorn State into 26 turnovers. Despite shooting only 40 percent (28-of-70), the Sooners were able to turn just enough of Alcorn State's miscues into extra scoring opportunities.

The Sooners were particularly bad from behind the 3-point line, finishing 5-of-20. Senior Kelley Newton was the lone bright spot as he connected on 3-of-6 3-pointers.

Hollis Price had 10 points, five steals and a career-high 10 assists for Oklahoma.

``I didn't think we played all that well tonight, but I saw enough potential to feel that we are going to be pretty good eventually,'' Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said. ``Aaron played well. I looked up and saw Aaron had 27 points and nine rebounds, and I started thinking, `Aaron missed nine shots, he missed four free throws and he only had nine rebounds.' When he learns to compete harder and expect more from himself, there's no telling what he can do.''

Alcorn State, which trailed by 10 with just over 11 minutes remaining, was led by Walter Harper's 15-point, eight-rebound effort.

The victory advances the Sooners to the finals on Saturday against La Salle, which beat North Carolina-Wilmington, 78-71, in the tournament opener.