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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Oklahoma
No. 7 Oklahoma Uses Strong First Half To Defeat Men's Hoops 82-63
November 23, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2002
Box Score
NORMAN, Okla. - Ebi Ere scored 27 points to lead the No. 7 Oklahoma men's basketball team to an 82-63 win over Princeton in the championship game of the Sooner Classic Saturday afternoon. Four players scored in double-figures for the Tigers (1-1), led by a 16-point performance by Andre Logan.
"We played a very good team today," third-year head coach John Thompson said. "They don't have too many weaknesses. They have an offense that can hurt you and one of the better defenses in the country. We have to play better, we have to execute better, and we will."
Oklahoma used a big first half to provide some separation from the Tigers, who opened their season Friday night with a 62-59 win over Western Michigan in the first semifinal. The Sooners, the defending Big 12 champion and a member of the last year's Final Four, raced out to a 44-29 lead at the end of the first half. Princeton played pretty evenly in the second half, but could not break into the Sooners' advantage. "They hit their shots today," Logan said. "They played well. That was a good team out there. What we can take out of this is that we know we can play with a team like this."
Logan led the team with 16 points, while Spencer Gloger added 14 on 5-for-10 shooting. Will Venable chipped in with 11 points, while center Judson Wallace completed a strong opening weekend with 10 points. On Friday, Wallace scored nine points and grabbed 14 rebounds, the most since Mason Rocca grabbed 18 rebounds in an NIT contest against Georgetown.
"I don't think our team fits into the stereotypical image of Princeton basketball," Thompson said. "We have some pretty good athletes who can get up the court. We just took some bad shots today."
Senior captain Kyle Wente came off the bench and recorded a team-high four assist, while Logan had a team-high five rebounds.
Ere led the way with 27 points, while Janhari Brown added 14 points and seven rebounds.
"It was nice to win our first game," Logan said of the tournament. "It was nice to play one of the best teams in the country today. We didn't play one of our better games, but we're not going to see too many Oklahomas down the road."
Princeton (1-1) will play its home opener on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. against Florida International.