UConn Falls to No. 9 Oklahoma in Norman

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NORMAN, OK (January 7, 2003) Senior guard Hollis Price scored a career high 33 points as the University of Oklahoma held off a valiant comeback by the University of Connecticut and posted a 73-63 victory in a battle of two top ten teams.

Connecticut, currently standing at No. 3 in the country drops to 9-1 on the season, while ninth-ranked Oklahoma improves to 9-2.

The Sooners led 37-24 at half time and opened up a 20-point lead, 51-31, with 15:45 to play.  The Huskies then went on an 11-0 run and closed the gap to 53-46 with 7:57 to play as sophomore guard Ben Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY) hit an inside shot.  The Huskies then closed the gap to five, 55-50 with 5:05 left to play as freshman Rashad Anderson (Lakeland, FL) connected on a shot that capped a 19-4 UConn run. 

UConn had a chance to close that gap again with 2:32 to play, but Taliek Brown (Queens, NY) was called for a travel as the Huskies trailed by six, 59-53 and they could get no closer.

Sooner senior guard Ebi Ere was the other double figure scorer for the Sooners with 15 points.  UConn had four players in double figures as sophomore center Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) had a double-double for the ninth time this year with 15 points and 10 rebounds.  Senior guard Tony Robertson (Providence, RI) came off the bench to lead the Huskies in scoring with 16 points, including three three-point field goals.   Gordon added 12 points while Anderson came off the bench to score 10. 

The Sooners shot 55.2% (16-29) from the field in the first half, but the Huskies limited Oklahoma to a 30.8% (8-26) performance in the second half.  Conversely, UConn shot 31.3% in the first half (10-32) and 55.2% (16-29) in the second half.

UConn returns to action on Saturday January 11 at Gampel Pavilion for their Big East opener against Miami.  Tip-off is set for 12 noon.