The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A rough shooting day from the field, but Buddy Hield was still able to leave an imprint on the Oklahoma Sooners’ signature win of the 2012-13 NCAA basketball season thus far.

With just seven seconds left to play, Hield stole the ball from Kansas’ Elijah Johnson near midcourt and raced in for a fastbreak dunk to put the finishing touches on the Sooners’ 72-66 win over the fifth ranked Jayhawks, Saturday at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Hield’s dunk was just a split second too late to count during regulation, but the play brought an emphatic ending to the feature game aired on CBS’ Saturday lineup.

Hield finished 0-3 from the field with just two points, three rebounds and two steals.

He is averaging 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and two assists per game.

Hield, a 6’3” 200 pound guard, was a four-star recruit out of Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, ranked 86th nationally and as the 17th best shooting guard in the country by Rivals.com.

In his senior season at Sunrise Christian, he averaged 22.7 points on .491 shooting in 21 minutes per game as a senior.

He also added four rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting .348 from 3-point range.

He led the Buffaloes to a 23-4 record and a National Association of Christian Athletes National championship where he was named tournament MVP.

Hield had received an offer from Kansas, but they recruited him more lightly in comparison to Oklahoma.

For the Sooners, they improved to 15-7, 6-4 in the Big 12 and also brought an end to a 10-game losing streak against the Jayhawks

It was their first win against a top-5 opponent since 2006 when the Sooners topped then fourth ranked Texas.

For the Jayhawks who previously lost to Oklahoma State and Texas Christian University, they have lost three straight games for the first time since February 2005.

For the Sooners, Romero Osby scored 17 points, Steven Pledger added 15 and Cameron Clark added 10 points off the bench.

Freshman Je’lon Hornbeak went 4 for 6 at the free throw line in the final minute, just enough to keep the Jayhawks at bay.

Ben McLemore led Kansas with 15 points and Jeff Withey had 14 points, six rebounds and one block.