Sooners’ size wins out over Albany

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Oklahoma Sooners had a physical edge on Albany in Friday night’s second-round NCAA East Regional game. They made the most of it.

“The game plan was to get the ball down inside because we knew we had an advantage, a couple inches,” Sooners senior forward TaShawn Thomas said.

Thomas scored a team-leading 18 points and junior guard Buddy Hield added 15 to lift No. 3 seed Oklahoma past No. 14 seed Albany 69-60.

The Sooners advance to face the winner of Friday’s nightcap between No. 6 seed Providence and No. 11 seed Dayton in a third-round game on Sunday.

It was the first NCAA Tournament victory for Oklahoma (23-10) since 2009. The Sooners lost their first game each of the past two years.

“Guys certainly were aware that we had lost in the first round the last two years,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “Games are hard to win in a tournament. Guys all wanted to get a tournament win under their belt. That was huge.”

Junior guard Peter Hooley scored 15 points, guard Evan Singletary had 13 and forward Sam Rowley added 12 for the Great Danes.

Albany (24-9) had difficulty matching up with the more physical Sooners, who outrebounded the Great Danes 40-34 and scored 23 second-chance points.

“We knew they were not just physical, they were tough and they were pretty skilled,” Rowley said. “That hurt us. We were battling down there for the whole game. In the second half, I thought we managed to limit them. But that was one of the differences in the game for sure.”

Oklahoma never trailed in the game, but Albany kept it close.

Ray Sanders hit a 3-pointer to trim Albany’s deficit to 45-40 with 14:40 left. The junior guard finished with 11 points.

Albany went scoreless for more than three minutes leading to a 7-0 Sooners run.

Guard Frank Booker’s putback pushed Oklahoma’s lead to 49-40. His 3-pointer moments later gave the Sooners their largest lead at 13 points with 11:20 left. Booker scored eight points.

Albany remained cold from 3-point range but stayed within striking distance.

Hield’s third 3-pointer put Oklahoma ahead 58-47 with six minutes remaining.

“If we got within three or four, maybe the game would have swung different,” Hooley said. “Maybe they would have got nervous or something. We always just hung around and we kept preaching to the guys, hang around and we’ll be OK.”

Albany was within six when Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer, putting them ahead 63-54 with 3:08 left.

“Cousins doesn’t hit that shot, maybe we’re in a different position now,” Hooley said.

The Sooners looked to push the pace against Albany from the start.

A dunk by Hield, the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year, put Oklahoma ahead 16-10.

“We needed guys to step up, make big shots,” said Hield, who hit three 3-pointers. “We always felt at that moment when you are up by eight or nine points, you watch those games and teams come back in less than 30 seconds.”

Albany began 1 of 5 from 3-point range before heating up later.

Hooley’s second 3-pointer cut the deficit to two. The Australian guard led Albany with 12 first-half points.

Oklahoma exploited its size advantage in the first half, scoring 24 of its 37 points in the paint with 15 second-chance points.

“We were overmatched physically and athletically, especially in the frontcourt,” Brown said. “Sam (Rowley) is as good as any player they have in the frontcourt, but he’s giving up four inches and 40 to 50 pounds on those guys.”

NOTES: Albany G Peter Hooley made national headlines when he hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Stony Brook in the America East title game, less than a month after the native Australian’s mother, Sue, died following a five-year battle with colon cancer. … Albany made its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth overall. … The Sooners’ No. 3 seed matches the highest for a Lon Kruger-coached team. … It was the first meeting between the two schools. … The Sooners made their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance and 16th in the past 21 years.