Goldbold Leads OU Into Second Round
BIRMINGHAM - Senior guard David Goldbold scored 25 points, provided baskets at clutch times and held St. Joseph's leading scorer to just 6 points as Oklahoma defeated Saint Joseph's 72-64 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma (23-11) will play the winner of the Louisville-Boise State game Sunday.
"Blake Griffin and Longar Longar always get double-teamed, you have to respect them," Godbold said. "I just made sure I hit the shots when they were kicked out to me."
Oklahoma led by as many as 18 in the second half after a flurry of Godbold trifectas, but the Hawks came storming back late to make it interesting. They cut the deficit to as little as four points in the final minutes, but freshman forward Blake Griffin provided 2 key baskets to stretch the lead back out.
"We knew they were going to make a run, we just didn't know when," Oklahoma guard Austin Johnson said. "We kept our composure and made plays."
St. Joseph's had just 22 points at the half, and most of that was because of the stellar defensive play of Godbold. He guarded Pat Calathes and shut the big guy down. Calathes, brother of Florida guard Nick Calathes, had just 6 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Longar Longar had 14 points. Griffin had 12 and Austin Johnson chipped in with 10.
