OKLAHOMA SPORTS NEWS

Last Update on March 11, 2010 01:30 EST

HORNETS-THUNDER

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook added 17 points and came up just shy of a triple-double, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the injury-depleted New Orleans Hornets 98-83 on Wednesday night.

The Hornets got off to a hot start in their latest return to the building they called home for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina, but it was short-lived with Peja Stojakovic joining All-Star point guard Chris Paul on the team's injured list.

Stojakovic is expected to miss at least two weeks with a lower abdominal strain.

Oklahoma City took the lead for good in the second quarter and never got much of a challenge in the second half as New Orleans shot 43 percent.

David West scored 33 for the Hornets.

B12-OKLAHOMA-OKLAHOMA ST

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Keiton Page scored 19 of his 24 points in a dominating first half, and Oklahoma State withstood a brief rally in the season's third Bedlam game to beat Oklahoma 81-67 on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma State raced to an 18-point lead in the first six minutes, then allowed Oklahoma to creep back in it with a shaky start to the second half. Obi Muonelo kept the Sooners from completing the comeback, scoring 10 of his 15 points after the rally to send the seventh-seeded Cowboys into Thursday's quarterfinals against ninth-ranked Kansas State, the No. 2 seed.

Oklahoma , seeded 10th, played without leading scorer Willie Warren and will miss the postseason a year after reaching the NCAA regional finals.

CUSA-RICE-TULSA

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Justin Hurtt scored 17 points, Jerome Jordan 16 and Ben Uzoh 15 and Tulsa wiped out a 15-point halftime deficit in a 73-62 victory over Rice in the first round of the Conference USA tournament Wednesday night.

Tulsa , the fifth seed, advances to play fourth seed Marshall in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

The 12th-seeded Owls were nearly flawless in the opening 20 minutes, jumping to an 8-0 lead and building it to 26-14. After Tulsa pulled within 28-22, Rice closed with a 13-4 run to lead 41-26 at the break.

Connor Frizzelle, who led the Owls with 17 points, was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the half. Tamir Jackson had 13 points and Suleiman Braimoh 12 for Rice.

Tulsa outscored Rice 47-21 in the second half. The Hurricane took the lead for good on Hurtt's dunk at 60-59.

HOUSTON BAPTIST-OKLAHOMA

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Max White hit a two-run homer and Oklahoma pitchers allowed just five hits in the Sooners' 9-1 victory over Houston Baptist.

White's RBI in the bottom of the second inning broke a 1-1 tie Wednesday and Oklahoma added more runs in the third, fifth and eighth innings.

White went 3-for-4 and Cameron Seitzer had two RBIs for the Sooners. Beau Warren hit a home run in the second inning for Houston Baptist .

Oklahoma's Michael Rocha allowed one hit and one run in five innings for the victory.

Stephen Nikonchik suffered the loss for Houston Baptist, allowing three hits and five runs in four innings.

OKLAHOMA ST-PRO DAY

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- With representatives of 27 NFL teams -- including three general managers -- watching, left tackle Russell Okung was the star attraction at Oklahoma State's Pro Day.

The highly regarded Okung is expected to be drafted in the first round and says he hopes the scouts who watched him liked how he performed.

During the NFL combine in Indianapolis late last month, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Okung suffered a minor groin injury and skipped some drills as a result. At his home stadium Wednesday, he performed the four drills he missed at the combine but didn't run the 40-yard dash or do the bench press.

Two other Oklahoma State players projected as potential high-round picks, receiver Dez Bryant and cornerback Perrish Cox, didn't participate Wednesday.

SHOCK-JONES

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Former sprinter Marion Jones has signed on to play with the WNBA's Tulsa Shock, hoping to launch a new career after losing five Olympic medals for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Jones was a star at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney but admitted two years ago that she had taken a designer steroid known as the "clear." She was stripped of her medals, including three golds.

She also spent about six months in a Texas federal prison for lying about doping and her role in a check-fraud scam.

Before she became known as the world's fastest woman, Jones was the starting point guard on North Carolina's national championship team in 1994. She was drafted by Phoenix in 2003 but never played in the WNBA.

Jones was introduced Wednesday at a news conference in Tulsa.