Associated Press Oklahomas' Aaron McGhee (13) drives to the basket past Arizona's Channing Frye (45), left, and Salim Stoudamire (20) during the first half of the NCAA West Region semifinal game yesterday at the Compaq center in San Jose, Calif. Oklahoma won, 88-67, ending the Wildcats' season.

Wildcats' season ends with 88-67 loss to Sooners

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Entering last night's game, Arizona had never beaten Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament. In their Sweet 16 matchup, history repeated itself and the Wildcats were eliminated by the Sooners, 88-67.

What started out as a back-and-forth battle in the first half turned into a blowout as Arizona dissolved in the second half and was handed its second-worst tournament loss under head coach Lute Olson.

"(In other games) we went down swinging," freshman center Isaiah Fox said. "Tonight, it just seemed that no matter what we were doing, they just kept coming at us."

Arizona came out in the first half with a game plan to control Oklahoma's inside game.

The idea was that if UA defenders double-teamed OU forward Aaron McGhee inside, the Sooners would be forced to shoot perimeter shots.

"We were not going to give (McGhee) an opportunity to maneuver," Olson said. "I thought we did that very, very well."

Unfortunately for Arizona, Oklahoma guard Hollis Price caught fire from 3-point range.

Price hit six first-half 3-pointers while the Wildcats focused on stopping the Sooners inside.

Price started the game with 15 of the team's first 21 points, as Arizona used a balanced attack to hold a lead for the latter part of the first half.

Associated Press Arizona's Jason Gardner (22) is caught between Oklahoma's Daryan Selvy (24) and Aaron McGhee (13) in the second half of their NCAA West region game in San Jose, Calif., yesterday evening. Oklahoma won, 88-67, to advance to the Elite Eight round.

Price finished the first half with 22 points and led all scorers with 26 in the game.

Junior forward Luke Walton said Prices's first half was one of the keys to the game because it allowed Oklahoma to stay close even though no one else was scoring.

"He was feeling his shot," junior forward Luke Walton said. "You can't let a player like that get his stroke on."

Though Arizona did not have any players in double figures at the half, the Wildcats led 37-33 as seven players scored, led by freshman Will Bynum's seven points.

The physical Sooners were held at bay as the Wildcats used stifling defense and double-teams down low.

In the second half, Arizona stuck to its game plan, but the Sooners adjusted.

Oklahoma became much more aggressive on the boards and had better movement on the offensive end. The result was more open looks for the Sooner forwards were suffocated by the Wildcats' defense in the first half.

"We had the inside guys pretty much under control in the first half," Olson said. "In the second half, they broke out."

After being held to two points in the first period, McGhee exploded for 19 second-half points.

Arizona led 44-40 with 15:44 left in the game, but the Sooners scored 48 points compared to Arizona's 23 to finish the game.

McGhee and the rest of the Sooner big men also stepped up on the boards.

After posting an 18-15 advantage on the glass in the first half, Arizona was beaten to the ball in the second half, which resulted in offensive put-backs for Oklahoma.

Wildcat juniors Luke Walton, Jason Gardner and Ricky Anderson combined for just 26 points on 9-of-28 shooting.

Walton tallied nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the loss.

Despite a season that exceeded the expectations of most, Olson said the team was devastated by the loss.

"You can see what type of competitors we have had all year," Olson said. "We tried to talk in the locker room about the big picture. They far exceeded the expectations of everyone, but that doesn't help right now. Right now everything is just the disappointment."