Romain Sato led Xavier with 28 points. (AP photos) | ZOOM |

        DALLAS — Don't let the size and tattoos fool you. Even though Oklahoma's Aaron McGhee looks like a bruiser in the paint, he's just as comfortable lofting jumpers.

        McGhee stayed out of an inside battle with Xavier big man David West, preferring mostly to knock down outside shots, and led the Sooners to a 78-65 victory Sunday to send them to the Midwest Regional semifinals.

        McGhee, who left the University of Cincinnati after his freshman season, scored 11 of Oklahoma's first 18 points, then scored eight of 11 to break a tie midway through the second half. He finished with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting and had five rebounds.

        “We just let him get off to too quick of a start,” West said.

        Romain Sato led Xavier with 28 points and eight rebounds. West, a second-team All-America, had 18 points and eight rebounds but wasn't much of a factor in the first half.

        “We challenged Dave at halftime and he answered the call,” Xavier caoch Dave Matta said.

Sato is double teammed. | ZOOM |

        OU (29-4) won its 10th straight, and 14th of 15. The Sooners are the fourth Big 12 team among the 16 playing next weekend; they'll play Arizona (24-9) in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday.

        McGhee, whose shooting arm features tattoos of a flaming basketball, an ace of spades and the phrase “Ball till I fall” in script, got started with a 3-pointer then hit three jumpers, turning two of them into three-point plays, all before West had his first points.

        West scored only one basket the first 17 minutes, but Sato kept Xavier (26-6) afloat. He scored 16 of the Musketeers' first 18 points then scored again to get Xavier within two just before West got into a groove.

        He scored the team's next 10 points, tying it at 40. The Musketeers, who had won seven in a row and were 21-2 since starting 5-3, knotted it up three more times but never led.

        “We missed a couple of free throws, they hit a couple of big shots and we couldn't get over the hump,” first-year coach Thad Matta said. “The things we feared OU doing happened.”

Oklahoma's Aaron McGhee shoots over David West. | ZOOM |

        McGhee hit two free throws with 11:15 left to put OU up for good, then started building the lead — and getting the Oklahoma crowd into it — with a short jumper in the lane over West.

        A 3-pointer by Quannas White forced Xavier to call a timeout, but fans used that opportunity to start chanting “Boomer Sooner” and they were as vocal as ever. McGhee gave them two more chances to roar by hitting a long jumper then making two of three foul shots after West nailed him while shooting a 3-pointer.

        “It got to a point,” McGhee said, “where I couldn't hear the plays that were called.”

        McGhee was in a rut at the start of conference play, then snapped out of it in a big way in February, averaging 21.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in the month. His numbers dipped in the Big 12 tournament, which OU won, but he bounced back Friday with a big game against Illinois-Chicago.

        “Early in the year, he was down on himself because he wasn't playing the way he's capable,” Price said. “For two months now, he's been great.”

The Xavier bench watches the season end. | ZOOM |

        The Sooners last reached the second weekend of the NCAA tournament in 1999, when they lost to Michigan State in the regional semis.

        McGhee, though, remembers losing to Indiana State in the first round last year and talked this week about that being his motivation. He showed his intensity in the first game, scoring most of his 26 points on the inside against Illinois-Chicago.

        Ebi Ere had 20 points, including several right after Xavier tied it, and seven rebounds. Hollis Price added 12 points and White scored nine.

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XAVIER (65)
 
                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
K Frey              27   1-1   0-1   1-4   1   3    2
D Young             14   0-1   2-2   2-4   0   2    2
D West              40  7-14   3-6   3-8   3   2   18
L Chalmers          32  1-12   4-4   2-5   2   4    6
R Sato              40  9-17   5-8   3-8   3   4   28
J Williams           8   1-2   0-0   0-0   0   0    3
A Coleman           10   1-2   0-0   1-3   0   0    2
A Brown             20   1-2   1-2   1-1   2   3    4
K Jackson            9   0-1   0-0   0-1   0   1    0


_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 21-52 15-23 13-34  11  19   65
_____________________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.404, FT-.652. 3-Point Goals:
8-19, .421 (D West 1-3, L Chalmers 0-3, R 
Sato 5-10, J Williams 1-1, A Coleman 0-1, A 
Brown 1-1). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 
6 (D West 5, R Sato). Turnovers: 17 (A Brown 
3, L Chalmers 3, R Sato 3, D West 3, D Young 
2, J Williams 2, K Frey). Steals: 3 (J 
Williams 2, L Chalmers).


OKLAHOMA (78)


                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
E Ere               34  7-14   4-4   1-7   0   1   20
A Mcghee            33  8-16   8-9   2-5   1   3   25
J Brown             21   2-3   0-0   0-2   1   4    4
Q White             36   2-5   4-5   1-3   6   2    9
H Price             36  4-10   4-4   1-1   3   2   12
J Detrick           16   0-3   3-4   0-3   1   3    3
D Selvy             24   2-5   1-2   5-9   0   4    5


_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 25-56 24-28 10-30  12  19   78
_____________________________________________________


Percentages: FG-.446, FT-.857. 3-Point Goals:
4-12, .333 (E Ere 2-5, A Mcghee 1-3, Q White 
1-1, H Price 0-1, J Detrick 0-2). Team 
Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 3 (J Brown 2, D 
Selvy). Turnovers: 6 (H Price 2, Q White 2, A
Mcghee, E Ere). Steals: 9 (H Price 3, D Selvy
2, A Mcghee, E Ere, Q White, J Brown).


-----------------------------------
XAVIER               36  29   -  65
OKLAHOMA             40  38   -  78
----------------------------------- 


Technical fouls: None. A: 19,951.

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