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Utah Cancels Oklahoma's Dance Card, 67-58
By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer
Mar 19, 2005 - 6:22:00 PM

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TUCSON, Ariz. - Turns out there's more to Utah than Andrew Bogut. The sixth-seeded Utes capitalized on the 7-foot Aussie's skilled passing and 20 points by Justin Hawkins to beat No. 3 seed Oklahoma 67-58 Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Utah's Andrew Bogut, right, drives past Oklahoma's Johnnie Gilbert, Saturday, March 19, 2005, in the second round of the NCAA Championships in Tucson. (AP Photo/Matt York)


The Utes (29-5) advanced to the Austin Regional for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Kentucky in the national championship game. They had been knocked out in the early rounds five of the last six years, but move on to play the Cincinnati-Kentucky winner next.

Although the beefy Sooners (25-8) did their best to beat up Bogut in the low post, they couldn't overcome 32 percent shooting. Except for hitting the opening basket, they trailed the entire game and got no closer than seven points in the second half.

Bogut had a career-high seven assists and tied his season low with 10 points, taking just seven shots. He scored 24 points in Utah's 60-54 opening-round win over 11th-seeded UTEP. The sophomore has been mentioned as a potential No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft.

Taj Gray had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Sooners, who had won eight of their previous nine games. Terrell Everett added 17 points.

Bogut's defense on Kevin Bookout neutralized the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder, who got in early foul trouble and scored four points. Johnnie Gilbert, the Sooners' imposing backup forward, had three fouls and nine points.

The Utes don't have a consistent No. 2 scorer to Bogut, but Hawkins and Marc Jackson proved more than able. Jackson added 17 points and Bryant Markson 16. Hawkins grabbed 13 rebounds and Bogut 11.

Bogut found Markson cutting through the lane and delivered sharp passes that led to dunks on consecutive possessions in the final 6 1/2 minutes. Then Bogut scored, giving Utah a 55-42 lead.

Bogut showed class in the closing seconds when he caught a long pass and dribbled out the clock instead of dunking.

Drew Lavender's performance showed how badly Oklahoma struggled offensively. He scored 17 points in a first-round win over Niagara, but was 1-of-6 for just three points Saturday.

Oklahoma took 29 more than shots than the Utes, but made just 21-of-66. Utah hit 59 percent from the floor and 64 percent from the line.

The Utes relied on outside shooting in taking a 14-2 lead to start the game. They hit their first five shots, helped by consecutive 3-pointers from Jackson, while Bogut hardly touched the ball. He had two points and eight rebounds at the break.

Oklahoma rallied to get within four while the Utes turned the ball over on four straight possessions as part of 11 turnovers in the half. They used a 10-5 run, including six by Hawkins, to end the half ahead 30-21.

The Sooners shot a woeful 8-of-31 from the floor in the half and had no one in double figures. Bookout was limited to seven minutes after picking up his third foul.


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