By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - That Hollis Price made big plays when Oklahoma needed them most came as no surprise to Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson.

"That's a veteran stepping up," Sampson said Monday night after Price scored 20 points in the 25th-ranked Sooners' 66-44 victory over Central Connecticut State in the opening round of the Preseason NIT. "That's the confidence he's developed.

"I've said all along that I think there's a lot of good guards in the league this year and I hear a lot of people talk about a lot of guards, but I wouldn't trade this one for any of them."

Price scored 11 straight points during a decisive second-half run that sent the Sooners to the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament. They will play at No. 15 Michigan State on Wednesday night. The Spartans beat Detroit 80-70 Monday.

Oklahoma built an 11-point first-half lead but saw the Blue Devils score the first eight points of the second half to take a 31-29 lead. They still trailed just 42-40 at the 10:00 mark, then Price got going.

He made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Sooners a 48-40 lead with 7:48 left. About a minute later, he scored on a backdoor layup. Then he hit a 3 from the top of the key for a 53-40 lead with 5:30 left.

Blake Johnston hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Price, and Ebi Ere added a short jumper to finish the run and make it 58-40.

The surge was frustrating for Central Connecticut coach Howie Dickenman, who spent part of a timeout reminding his players to keep a close eye on Price.

"I had to say it three times - 'Hollis Price can shoot,"' Dickenman said. "Guess what? He came out and buried a 3-point shot from the top of the key."

Price finished 6-of-10 from 3-point range and the Sooners outscored Central Connecticut 33-3 from behind the arc.

"Their team did a good job of competing and we just had to answer, and we did," said Price, one of only two starters back from a team that went 26-7 last year and won the Big 12 tournament. "It's like Coach said, returning guards and big men, they've got to step up. Tonight I thought I did a good job of doing that."

Jason Detrick had 12 points and Ere added 11 for Oklahoma.

Corsley Edwards had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils, who scored just four points over the final 10 minutes and finished with 22 turnovers.

The Sooners got two 3-pointers by Detrick and one by Quannas White in a 13-3 run that gave them a 16-8 lead midway through the first half. The Blue Devils turned the ball over on eight of nine trips during that stretch.

Central Connecticut cut the margin to 16-14 before Price hit a baseline 3-pointer to start an 11-2 spurt that gave the Sooners their biggest first-half lead, 27-16.