Sooners Fall To Jayhawks

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Julian Wright and Mario Chalmers each scored 18 points, and No. 3 Kansas bounced back after blowing a 14-point to beat Oklahoma 67-65 Monday night.<br/><br/>The Jayhawks (26-4, 12-2)

Monday, February 26th 2007, 10:38 pm

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Julian Wright and Mario Chalmers each scored 18 points, and No. 3 Kansas bounced back after blowing a 14-point to beat Oklahoma 67-65 Monday night.

The Jayhawks (26-4, 12-2) committed 12 2nd-half turnovers against Oklahoma's pressing defense, but rebounded with a late 11-4 run to win their seventh straight game.

Kansas had won its last six games by an average margin of 28.8 points and appeared headed for another easy victory when the Sooners (15-13, 6-9) deployed a trapping pressure in the 2nd-half to close a 14-point gap.

Oklahoma got the crowd, decked out in giveaway white T-shirts, back into the game with a pair of quick baskets to start the second half. Nate Carter got it started by putting back Bobby Maze's blocked lay-up, and Michael Neal stole the ensuing inbounds pass to set up a 3-pointer by David Godbold that cut the lead to 33-24.

The Sooners continued to press the Jayhawks into turnovers, and they eventually were able to tie the game at 51 when Neal drilled a 3-pointer from the left side to finish a 12-3 Oklahoma run.

But Oklahoma couldn't grab the lead.

Kansas got its next 5-points at the foul line, and Wright bumped the lead to 58-53 when he spun into the lane and banked in a lay-up with his right hand. Sasha Kaun added a lay-up after Brandon Rush lost the ball on the way to the basket, and Rush made two free throws to extend the lead to 62-55.

Oklahoma got to 63-60 on Longar Longar's lay-up in the final minute, but Chalmers and Russell Robinson were 4-4 from the free throw line to keep Kansas in control.

Tony Crocker's 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left provided the final margin.