NORMAN, Okla. -- Trae Young has become known for his scoring during his brief career with No. 17 Oklahoma. It was his record-tying passing that made the biggest difference for the Sooners on Tuesday night against Northwestern State.
The freshman guard had 26 points and tied an NCAA Division I record with 22 assists as Oklahoma rolled 105-68 in the Sooners' first game since moving into the Top 25.
Brady Manek added 22 points and Kameron McGusty had 15 for Oklahoma (9-1). The Sooners have won seven consecutive games -- including an upset of then-No. 3 Wichita State on Saturday -- and have scored 90 or more points seven times this season.
Young's 22 assists tied the major college record set by Tony Fairley of Charleston Southern vs. Armstrong in 1987 and matched by Southern's Avery Johnson against Texas Southern in 1988 and Syracuse's Sherman Douglas against Providence in 1989.
Young also broke the former Big 12 record of 18, set by Oklahoma's Michael Johnson vs. North Texas in 1997, and matched by Oklahoma State's Doug Gottlieb vs. Florida Atlantic in 1998.
"I give a lot of credit to my teammates," Young said. "I wouldn't be able to make an assist without my teammates knocking it down. They did a tremendous job making shots. But I mean that's a big accomplishment, because not only is it an individual award . I feel like it's a team thing, so that's big for me more than anything else."
Thirteen of Young's assists came in the first half, breaking the Big 12 record for assists in a half formerly held by Baylor's Pierre Jackson (2013), Gottlieb (1999) and Johnson (1997). Young also broke Oklahoma's single-game assist mark, held by Johnson and Jan Pannell, who had 18 vs. Oklahoma City on Jan. 12, 1983.
"Obviously what Trae did tonight was exceptional, off the charts," Oklahoma Coach Lon Kruger said. "He said in the locker room afterward that a lot of guys made a lot of shots for me. He made a lot of good plays for a lot of guys as well. It was good to see guys moving the ball."
Ishmael Lane led Northwestern State (3-7) with 17 points while Larry Owens had 16. The Demons have lost all seven of their meetings with Oklahoma, which is 39-4 against nonconference opponents at home under Kruger.
Northwestern State kept the game close for about four minutes and led 11-9 on a layup by Owens at the 16:07 mark of the first half. The Sooners then seized control with a 20-1 run, going up 29-12 on a 3-pointer by Matt Freeman with 9:52 left before halftime.
The Sooners led 53-37 at halftime and steadily built on their advantage throughout the second half.
Young scored 20 or more points for the ninth consecutive game, the longest streak at Oklahoma since Buddy Hield did so during the 2015-2016 season.
"He always knew where his players were on the floor," Northwestern State Coach Mike McConathy said of Young. "A long time ago they talked about Magic Johnson, how he knew all the time where all nine players on the floor were. [Young] knows where all nine players are on the floor, too. That means that he is going to put the ball wherever it needs to be. Phenomenal player. He's got the whole package because he can really shoot the ball and really pass the ball."
In other games involving Top 25 teams, Tra Holder scored 20 points, Kodi Justice added 18 and No. 3 Arizona State (11-0) overcame a shaky first half to extend the best start in school history with a 95-61 victory over Longwood in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils went on a 16-1 run to turn a five-point halftime lead into a 54-35 advantage in the opening 6½ minutes of the second half. ... Senior guard Duane Wilson scored 16 points and No. 8 Texas A&M escaped with a 64-58 victory over Northern Kentucky in College Station, Texas. The Aggies (10-1), missing injured starters Admon Gilder (knee) and Robert Williams (concussion), trailed 16-15 more than midway through the first half before outscoring the Norse 12-2 over the next 4 minutes. … Kerem Kanter had 16 points and 13 rebounds and No. 9 Xavier, playing the second half without three starters, held off Marshall 81-77. Xavier led by as many as 23 points but was outscored 50-34 in the second half. C.J. Burks buried a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to make it a five-point game, but Kanter sealed the Musketeers’ victory with two free throws 10 seconds later. Xavier didn’t have starters J.P. Macura (blurred vision) and Kaiser Gates (dizziness) the entire game as both were being held out for precautionary measures. Freshman Naji Marshall, who was moved into the starting lineup, took a hard fall near halftime and did not play the second half. … Sophomore guard Ty Jerome scored a career-high 17 points, hitting all three of his three-point attempts, as No. 13 Virginia breezed through its next-to-last non-conference tune-up, topping Savannah State 78-47. Virginia (10-1) got 10 points and five rebounds from junior center Jack Salt as the Cavaliers built a 42-21 halftime lead and never looked back. … Keenan Evans led with 15 points and No. 21 Texas Tech blew out Florida Atlantic in the second half of a 90-54 victory. Davide Moretti scored 14 points, Tommy Hamilton IV had 13 and Niem Stevenson made four of six threepoint attempts for all 12 of his points as the Red Raiders (10-1) outscored the Owls 50-21 after halftime.
In games involving SEC teams, Marcquise Reed scored a career-high 25 points including four second-half three-pointers to lead Clemson (10-1) to a 64-48 victory over South Carolina in Clemson, S.C. South Carolina (9-2) scored 28 of its 48 points in the paint, shooting just 35 percent (19 of 54) from the field. Chris Silva had 12 points and nine rebounds for South Carolina, and was the only Gamecock with at least 10 points. Gabe DeVoe scored 12 points and Shelton Mitchell added 10 for Clemson. … Dominik Olejniczak and Justas Furmanavicius scored 15 points apiece as Mississippi defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 85-63 in Oxford, Miss. Deandre Burnett added 13 points for Ole Miss (6-5) and sparked an early 20-4 run to build an insurmountable 44-22 lead. Joe Kilgore scored 17 points for Corpus Christi (3-7). … Skylar Mays and Randy Onwuasor each scored 13 points and Wayde Sims had 10 points and 10 rebounds as LSU defeated Sam Houston State 80-58 in Baton Rouge. LSU (7-3) went on a 9-2 in the last 3 ½ minutes to go into halftime with a 38-29 lead. Abrian Edwards had a season-high 22 points for the Bearkats (6-6), who have lost all four of their road games this season. ... Yante Maten scored 24 points, including two baskets in Georgia’s 13-3 run to open a dominant second half, and the Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech 80-59 in Athens, Ga. Georgia (8-2) has won consecutive games in the annual state rivalry game against Georgia Tech (5-5). Freshman Rayshaun Hammonds added 11 points as Georgia’s only other scorer in double figures. … Collin Sexton scored 21 points and John Petty added 18 as Alabama (8-3) rallied past Mercer for an 80-79 victory on Tuesday night in the Rocket City Classic in Huntsville, Ala. Petty hit four of the Crimson Tide’s six three-pointers. Demetre Rivers had 24 points and Ria’n Holland added 21 to lead Mercer (6-6). Holland missed a last-second three-point attempt after a Tide turnover. … Kassius Robertson scored 23 points with a steal in the closing seconds, Jordan Barnett had 22 points and Missouri hung on to defeat Stephen F. Austin 82-81 on Tuesday night for its fifth consecutive victory. It was Robertson who missed two free throw with 13.5 seconds to play before his hustle led to a turnover with 2.7 seconds left. … Jared Harper scored 11 of his 17 points in the final four minutes to help push Auburn (10-1) past Murray State 81-77 in Murray, Ky., for its ninth consecutive victory. Trailing by a point, Harper hit 3 three-pointers and added two free throws during a 13-4 run to pull away from the Racers.
Sports on 12/20/2017