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Blake Griffin powers Oklahoma over UAB

Nov 27, 2008 - 5:49 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Blake Griffin posted his sixth double-double by recording 32 points and 15 rebounds to lead Oklahoma to a 77-67 victory in an NIT Season Tip-Off semifinal on Wednesday.

The 13th-ranked Sooners trailed, 34-29, at the half, but ran off a 13-5 spurt to grab a 42-39 lead. The run was punctuated by dunk by Griffin.

The teams battled back and forth until Oklahoma went on another run, this one 16-2 with less than five minutes remaining to seize control and the victory. Cade Davis had a huge second half, scoring 12 points.

Davis came off the bench to hit four shots from beyond the arc. The final one gave Oklahoma 60-55 lead with 7:10 left.

"We had some guys step up in the second half," Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. "Cade Davis was tremendous. Other guys stepped up. Total team effort."

The star of the show - again - was Griffin. His powerful performance was virtually unstoppable as he hit 11-of-14 from the field and 10-of-14 from the line. The 6-10 Griffin felt the Sooners find their rhythm in the final 20 minutes.

"I felt like we got it going after halftime,'" Griffin said. "We are all focused on getting wins and winning championships."

This marked the first time since 2003-04 that the Sooners have notched a 5-0 record.

The Sooners play Purdue in the final on Friday.

Paul Delaney III had 23 points for UAB (4-1).