NORMAN, Okla. — Gardner-Webb was oh so close to another memorable upset on the road.
The Bulldogs (0-3) just couldn’t stop Blake Griffin.
Griffin had career highs of 35 points and 21 rebounds and No. 12 Oklahoma (4-0) rallied to beat Gardner-Webb 80-76 on Saturday.
Griffin’s three-point play with 2:06 remaining gave the Sooners a 76-74 lead, and Austin Johnson hit three free throws in the final 20.6 seconds to help the Sooners avoid the upset.
“I feel very fortunate to get this win,” coach Jeff Capel said. “(Gardner-Webb) played like a team that was desperate and hungry for a win. … We played like a team that just thought we had to show up.”
Griffin was 14-for-20 from the field and added a career-best five assists and three steals for Oklahoma. He also posted his fourth straight double-double, joining Alvan Adams, Garfield Heard, Ernie Abercrombie and Wayman Tisdale as the only Oklahoma players ever to do so.
Aaron Linn scored 22 points for Gardner-Webb, which beat Kentucky by 16 at Rupp Arena last year. The Bulldogs have lost their three games this season by a combined eight points.
The Bulldogs led Oklahoma by as many as five deep into the second half.
But Oklahoma rallied and led 80-76 with 2.7 seconds to go before escaping what could have been a disastrous play by Taylor Griffin, who fouled Linn on a half-court shot with 0.4 seconds remaining. Linn missed all three free throws.
No. 3 Louisville 79, Morehead St. 41
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Freshman center Samardo Samuels scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures as the Cardinals (1-0) overpowered the overmatched Eagles (0-4).
No. 6 Pittsburgh 86, Indiana (Pa.) 60
PITTSBURGH — DeJuan Blair missed only one shot while scoring 27 points and getting 18 rebounds, helping the Panthers (4-0) ease past the undersized NCAA Division II Crimson Hawks (2-1).
No. 11 Purdue 66, Coppin St. 46
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Robbie Hummel had 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Boilermakers (4-0) held the Eagles (1-2) to 30 percent shooting in the game.
No. 15 Marquette 100, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 80
MILWAUKEE — Wesley Matthews and Lazar Hayward scored 25 points each as the Golden Eagles (3-0) beat the Panthers (3-2).
No. 22 Georgetown 81, Drexel 53
WASHINGTON — Freshman Greg Monroe had 20 points and eight rebounds as the Hoyas (2-0) beat the Dragons (1-1).
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