Final Score: Arkansas 96, (4) Oklahoma 88

Fayetteville, AR (Sports Network) - Michael Washington scored 24 points, as Arkansas nearly blew a big early lead but eventually held on for a 96-88 upset over No. 4 Oklahoma at Bud Walton Arena.

Stefan Welsh scored 19 points and Rotnei Clarke added 15, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc, for Arkansas (10-1), which has won eight straight games.

Willie Warren led all scorers with 35 points for the Sooners (12-1), who suffered their first loss of the season following a road win over Rice on December 22. Blake Griffin tallied 21 points and 13 rebounds while Tony Crocker added 18 points in the losing effort.

"This team (Arkansas) is well-coached and it shows that youth doesn't matter, talent does," said Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel. "We had some lapses and they made us pay for them."

The Razorbacks came storing out the of the gate and opened a 25-8 lead on a Washington dunk before a Clarke three-pointer made it 30-15 near the midpoint of the opening half.

Arkansas' lead grew as the remaining minutes ticked and the advantage was 50-31 when Marcus Monk dunked with just over two minutes remaining in the half. A free throw by Washington and his subsequent jam 30 seconds later capped the scoring in the stanza and sent the excited Razorbacks into the locker room with a 53-38 lead.

As the second half unfolded, the Arkansas lead only got bigger. With 11:52 to play in regulation, a Clarke three-pointer gave the hosts a gigantic 72-47 lead.

However, a 13-0 run by Oklahoma that spanned only two minutes brought the Sooners back into the game. Crocker's trey started the spurt, followed it with another triple, and amazingly hit another on three consecutive possessions before a jumper by Griffin and a layup by Warren after a steal brought the Sooners within 72-60 with 9:49 to play.

Soon after, another three-pointer by Crocker from the left corner allowed the Sooners to get within nine, 72-63. Oklahoma stayed within relative striking distance, as Griffin's rebound putback with over six minutes to go saw the Sooners trail 81-71 with a clear momentum advantage.

On the next two possessions, Warren converted from three-point range both times, and amazingly the Sooners were within four, 81-77, with just over five minutes on the clock.

Washington's jumper with 3:17 to go put the Razorbacks on top 86-79, and after Griffin's bucket at the other end, Washington answered with another basket to restore the seven-point lead.

The final minute-plus contained many foul shots and timeouts, and eventually the Razorbacks were simply too strong from the stripe and grinded out the remaining seconds to hang on for the victory.

"This was an awesome environment tonight -- Oklahoma is an unbelievable team," said Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey. "To compete with them, we needed performances from guys we haven't seen this season and we did. We're very happy."

Game Notes

Crocker ended 6-for-13 from three-point range...The Sooners shot 43.8 percent from the field (32-of-73), while the Hogs were 30-of-58 from the field overall...Griffin and Warren both fouled out...Arkansas won the rebounding battle, 45-33.

12/31 02:08:30 ET