Steven Pledger scored 30 points and Oklahoma weathered a second-half charge by No. 22 Kansas State and some tense moments down the stretch to give coach Lon Kruger a 63-60 victory over his former team Saturday night.
Sam Grooms made a key steal in the closing minute and two free throws with 5 seconds left for the Sooners (13-7, 3-5 Big 12), who watched as Rodney McGruder's potential tying 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer bounced off the back iron and fell to the floor. McGruder finished with 19 points and Angel Rodriguez had 10 for the Wildcats (15-5, 4-4), who trailed by 10 in the second half but went on a 12-2 run and later pulled into the lead.
The Sooners led 59-56 on a pair of free throws by Pledger with 1:07 left, but Will Spradling trimmed the lead to a point on a slicing layup moments later.
It was still 59-58 when the Wildcats' Jordan Henriquez corralled a loose ball on defense with just over 10 seconds remaining, but Grooms managed to poke it loose before it could be cleared. Romero Osby hit two free throws to restore Oklahoma's three-point lead, and the Sooners fouled Henriquez on purpose with 5.2 seconds left. He made both fouls shots to get Kansas State within 61-60, but Grooms came through with his free throws to make it 63-60.
It was Kruger's first game back in Bramlage Coliseum as the opposing coach.
Kruger was a star for the Wildcats in the 1970s, twice earning Big 8 player of the year honors, and later returned as an assistant coach. Kruger then came back as head coach when Jack Hartman retired and led the Wildcats to four consecutive NCAA tournaments.
He received a nice round of applause when he walked onto the court before the game.
