Tulsa - Jeff Capel's old team came back to haunt him Saturday night.

The 17th-ranked Sooners (2-1) traveled to Virginia Commonwealth, where Capel spent four seasons before taking over the OU program. And, the Rams handed the Sooners their first loss of the season, 82-69 in Richmond, Virginia.

OU phenom Willie Warren was held to just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, including 0-for-8 from three-point range.

VCU (2-1) scored the first five points of the game and never trailed, pushing the lead to ten points, 16-6, at the 15:14 mark of the first half.

The lead would grow to 17 points before the Sooners trimmed it back to ten, 44-34 at halftime. But, OU never got closer than ten points the rest of the second half.

"Congrats to VCU," said Capel. "They shot the heck out of the ball. We let our lack of making shots determine how the game went. I knew our team wasn't as good as everyone had us. This was a great game for us. I didn't like the result but we'll grow from this game."

Tony Crocker led the Sooners with 19 points. Freshman Tiny Gallon added 15 points and 11 rebounds while Steven Pledger scored 11 and Tommy Mason-Griffin chipped in ten.

Jay Gavin led the Rams with 20 points.

The Sooners face another long road trip, this time to Anchorage, Alaska to participate in the Great Alaska shootout. They'll play San Diego Wednesday and Houston Thursday.

 Email To Friend