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Oklahoma 74, Winthrop 50

Posted: Thursday March 16, 2000 07:39 PM

Winthrop Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Madison

Oklahoma Related Info: Team Page Conference Page City Page: • Norman Message Boards: • Oklahoma • Big Twelve

TUCSON, Arizona (Ticker) -- J.R. Raymond scored 14 points and Tim Heskett added 12 as third-seeded Oklahoma used a 3-point barrage to bury No. 14 Winthrop, 74-50, in a first-round West Region contest.

Eduardo Najera added 10 points for Oklahoma (27-6), which plays Purdue on Saturday in the second round at the McKale Center.

The Sooners, who lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 Conference tournament title game, have not been seeded this high in the NCAA Tournament since 1990, its third straight year as a No. 1.

Oklahoma hit 10-of-21 3-pointers, with Raymond and Heskett sinking four apiece, and shot 49 percent overall. Winthrop went just 2-of-17 from long range and finished the game at 27 percent from the floor.

Nolan Johnson scored 12 points and freshman Hollis Price added 10 for the Sooners, who hit 26-of-53 field goal attempts and 12-of-14 free throws.

Raymond scored five points and Najera and Price added four apiece during a 19-7 run as the Sooners opened a 25-12 cushion with 8:36 left in the first half. They led by at least 11 the rest of the way.

Oklahoma was ahead, 39-23, at halftime and kept rolling in the second half, building a 61-38 bulge with 9:35 to play and its biggest lead, 74-47, on a jumper by Jameel Heywood in the final minute.

The Eagles (21-9) trailed by at least 18 points over the final 11:35. They were 1-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half and 1-of-12 in the second, missing their first seven attempts.

Senior guard Tyson Waterman scored just two points on 1-of-10 shooting in 30 minutes, going 0-of-7 from 3-point range, for Winthrop. Greg Lewis scored 21 points but no other Eagle had more than eight.

The Big South Conference champion, Winthrop lost in the first round for the second straight season, dropping a 39-point defeat against top-seeded Auburn last year.

The Eagles had won three straight games and 13 of 15 against the likes of Elon, High Point and Liberty. Their only other meeting with a ranked opponent was a 76-65, overtime loss to Maryland on December 7.

The Sooners, who lost in the first round from 1992-98, advanced to the "Sweet 16" last season as a 13th seed with wins over Arizona and North Carolina-Charlotte. They lost to Michigan State.

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