16 BIG 12
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Loss to Texas A&M tarnishes senior day
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oklahoma guard Tommy Mason-Griffin, center, and Texas A&M's Donald Sloan, right, and Nathan Walkup, left, go for a loose ball in the second half of their game in Norman, Okla., on Saturday. Oklahoma lost the game 69-54.
By Clark Foy Oklahoma Daily Saturday, March 6
NORMAN, Okla. — The Sooners wrapped up their regular season with a 69-54 loss to the No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies.
Senior day was celebrated in honor of the team's graduating seniors that were playing their last game at Lloyd Noble Center. Along with seniors Tony Crocker and Ryan Wright, forward Beau Gerber made the starting lineup — the first start of his long career as a Sooner.
A 14-3 run midway through the first half put the Sooners up 23-15 with just under eight minutes to play in the half. The run was ignited by Oklahoma's three-point shooting as they started 5-7 from deep.
But the Aggies were not finished. By the end of the half, A&M had chipped away at the Sooners and took the lead with under two minutes left, sending Oklahoma to the locker room down 36-32.
Freshman guard Steven Pledger led the Sooners in scoring at the half with nine
points. Fellow freshman Tommy Mason Griffin was second with eight points on just 3-8 from the field, but added three assists and three rebounds.
After shooting 60 percent from behind the arc in the first half, the Sooners were still down by four points. After six minutes of play in the second half, Oklahoma's three-point stroke was gone, as were any signs of vitality.
Oklahoma started the second half shooting 1-5 from downtown,2-7 from the field overall. At the wrong end of a 14-6 run that put the Sooners down 50-38, the Sooners needed an answer.
Crocker would not provide the missing spark, as he headed to the bench with four fouls at the 12-minute mark. Freshman forward Tiny Gallon was also not available after tweaking his ankle at the beginning of the second period.
Former UCLA forward Wright found himself in early foul trouble, while junior guard Cade Davis and Mason-Griffin could not find their rhythm.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Roberson, Singletary earn league honors
By Mike Graham The Toreador — Monday, March 8
LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech basketball did not collect any of the six 2009-2010 season Big.12 Conference awards, which were announced Sunday, and no Red Raiders were
named to the three All-Big 12 teams either.
However, Tech guard John Roberson and forward Mike Singletary earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selections among the likes of Kansas' Xavier Henry and Oklahoma's Willie Warren.
Singletary and Roberson wrapped up their junior seasons averaging more than 14
THE WAVE MARCH 10,2010
Roberson became Tech's career assist leader in its win against Oklahoma State and was second behind Baylor's Tweety Carter for the most assists this season in the Big 12 with 161. Carter had 164. He also had the conference's fourth best turnover-to-assist ratio.
Roberson also was among the top 10 in the conference's best free throw and three point percentages. He played the second most minutes in the conference behind Carter during the regular season.
Singletary reached his 1,000th career point during the season and was a staple in two of the Big 12's rebounding categories, including 10th in overall rebounding and seventh in defensive rebounding. Singletary also ranked eighth in most minutes played.
points each, and were ranked 12th and 14th respectively, in scoring in the Big 12.
While the regular season is in the books, the Red Raiders' season is not finished. After a 101-90 loss Saturday in Boulder, Colo., they will square off with Colorado again Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas Tech guard Nick Okorie, right, goes up for a shot over Colorado guard Cory Higins during their game in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday. Okorie scored 34 points for the Raiders.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN