Former Oklahoma basketball player Ken Pryor dies

Sep 2, 2010 - 3:43 PM NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Former University of Oklahoma basketball player Ken Pryor, whose basket lifted the Sooners into the 1947 NCAA championship game, has died.

School spokesman Mike Houck said Thursday that Pryor died on Tuesday at the age of 85. Houck did not know the cause of death, which was first reported by The Oklahoman.

Pryor's bank shot with 10 seconds remaining in a 1947 semifinal game gave OU a 55-54 win over Texas and sent the Sooners into the finals against Holy Cross. Holy Cross - with future Hall-of-Famer Bob Cousy - beat Oklahoma, 58-47.

Pryor played for the amateur Phillips 66ers for three years after college, then worked for the oil company before opening an insurance agency in Norman in 1963. He retired in 1990.