Oklahoma 91, Baylor 51

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Nate Carter scored a season-high 22 points to lead Oklahoma to a 91-51 win over Baylor on Saturday.<br/> <br/>Carter scored 5 straight points for Oklahoma (11-6, 3-2) that helped

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 6:16 pm

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Nate Carter scored a season-high 22 points to lead Oklahoma to a 91-51 win over Baylor on Saturday.

Carter scored 5 straight points for Oklahoma (11-6, 3-2) that helped ignite a 19-2 1st-half run, turning an 18-14 deficit into a 33-20 advantage.

Baylor (11-7, 1-4) started quickly behind the play of Aaron Bruce, who scored 10 of his 12 points during the opening 7-minutes. The Bears led by as many as 8 before Oklahoma began methodically chipping away behind Carter's inside play and an attacking man-to-man defense.

Oklahoma finished the first half by outscoring Baylor 31-9, a run that staked the Sooners to a 45-27 lead.

Oklahoma's Michael Neal squelched any comeback hopes the Bears still harbored when he buried consecutive 3-points early in the 2nd half. The senior guard finished with 16 points, including a 4-7 performance from 3-point range.

The Sooners shot 57.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bears 42-30.

Carter entered the contest as the Sooners' top scorer (16.2) and rebounder (7.5) during conference play, and the senior forward made his presence felt early by scoring 8 of his team's first 12 points.

A pair of free throws by Carter put the Sooners on top to stay 21-20 and he later added a 3-point play. A 3-pointer from David Godbold followed by a driving bucket by Taylor Griffin capped the decisive 19-2 run.

Curtis Jerrells led Baylor with 15 points, including a dozen in the 2nd half, long after the outcome had been decided. Baylor shot just 31.9 percent from the field and only 12-22 from the free-throw line.

Bobby Maze came off the bench to score 14 points for the Sooners, while center Longar Longar returned to action after serving a two-game suspension and scored 10 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.