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"I think both teams earned every point. I told Kelvin (Sampson, OU coach), and it doesn't make him feel any better when you lose, but I really thought that's the hardest we've played and the hardest anybody has played against us, maybe since I've been here. I just thought that every possession the kids were really fighting. There's not one time that I said anything about sprinting back. There's not one time that I said anything about getting off a screen. It was a battle out there, and there's so many extra things going on. We had the ball all the way around the basket all night, and couldn't get it in. The kids were fighting like crazy on the offensive backboards. The first half we had eight offensive rebounds and second shots, and didn't make any of them. But with that kind of effort, I told them to just try to do that for 40 minutes. Yet, at the end of the game we got a walk called that I didn't like, we missed six free throws, I thought we took a charge on the other end, but they reversed the call and gave it back to them. "Somebody told me today Kelvin was going for his win #300. We won ours last year down at Oklahoma. Somebody also said that those seniors had never beaten us, and that reminded me of Oklahoma State, so I was beginning to wonder there at the end when we were competing like crazy but weren't getting rewarded for it. But Kirk makes the one free throw, and then defensively, that was a phenomenal job defensively. And Lester, for five minutes, gave us a heck of a lift defensively, because he is one guy who can play the Najeras and the Fizers better than anybody else we have. "I feel a hell of a lot better today (with 53 points on the scoreboard) than I did at Stillwater, I can tell you that. "Lester's had a lot of tough things. Lester's had a lot of tough things that he caused, but as I said in the release, suspending someone is not something I do very often. And a seven-game suspension is a pretty long suspension, but his actions warranted it. I'm going to be criticized regardless. A lot of people want me to slap him on the wrist, and say a lot of college students drink. I have a personal problem with drinking and driving, and a lot of people wanted me to cut off both of his ankles. There's no way I could do the right thing, but I did what I was comfortable with and what our players and our staff were comfortable with, and I was really happy for the youngster. "It is a sense of relief. Our kids had some doubts in their own minds, and that's human nature. Losing one at home is not something we do very often, and losing the way we lost the other night when we thought we were in a good position. I thought we were going to win that game and win the league. That's how positive I was. It's a crazy game. "Ashante did well. He really got frustrated in the second half because he couldn't handle the ball cleanly; couldn't catch it, couldn't make his easy shots. We simplified things. I think we called four set plays the entire game, and that helps Ashante a little bit, too. He's more of a freelance kind of player. We didn't scramble much defensively, and that helps him as well. "I was also pleased for Drew, because the last couple of days in practice, Drew wasn't very good. I got really mad at him yesterday, and almost threw everybody out of the building, out of school, out of the state, and out of the country. But we stayed and got some things accomplished, and decided to go with Ashante. I was really happy for him that he gave us some good moments. He feels real good right now. "The last couple of games, they've shot a really poor percentage, and I was hoping it wasn't going to even out against us. But I thought that Jeff and Kirk were really good defensively on the perimeter, keeping those guys in front of them and getting to the three-point shot. Najera is a load. Aand I'll be honest: it helped us a lot when he got his fourth foul and was out of there. "The Big 12 is one of the most competitive leagues in the country. I dont' see enough of the other teams play, and I don't know what our record is against the other leagues, and stuff like that. But it's a fantastic league. It's as competitive as it can possibly be. There's some awfully good players. You have to be ready to play every night. All those cliches that you can throw in there. But if you're sitting on the bench, you don't feel comfortable about playing against anybody in our league."