New York, NY -- (Sports Network) - Blake Griffin poured in 32 points and pulled down 15 rebounds as the 11th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners survived a spirited effort from the UAB Blazers with a 77-67 win in semifinal action of the NIT Season Tip-Off from Madison Square Garden.

Oklahoma advances to the championship on Friday to face the 10th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers, who posted a 71-64 final against Boston College earlier Wednesday.

Sharpshooters Cade Davis and Tony Crocker each hit four three-pointers to log 12 points apiece for the Sooners (5-0), who hosted the South Regional of this tournament, where they opened with wins over Mississippi Valley State and nationally-ranked Davidson.

Surrounding those tournament wins was a season opening triumph over American and most recently a narrow defeat of Gardner-Webb on Saturday. The 5-0 start is the team's best under third-year head coach Jeff Capel, with each victory prior to Wednesday coming at home.

"His drive to the best is unique. His work ethic is unique. I think he's just starting to scratch the surface with his talent," Capel said of his standout guard Griffin.

Paul Delaney III dropped 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed six boards to pace the Blazers (4-1), who came into this contest undefeated despite having yet to play a single home game.

The Blazers were the only one of the four remaining teams to reach the semifinals not to host a regional in this tournament, but that didn't stop them from winning the West bracket with triumphs of Santa Clara and Arizona last week. UAB followed those victories up with a win at Old Dominion in a non-tournament bout on Saturday.

Robert Vaden made four of his seven field goals from behind the arc en route to 18 points to go along with nine boards and Lawrence Kinnard chipped in 12 points in the loss.

"Griffin carried them," UAB head coach Mike Davis said. "He gave his teammates time to adjust to our speed. I think we surprised them early on with our speed but he's a big-time player."

A three-point play from Griffin put the Sooners up 40-39 early in the second, their first lead since an 18-17 score with eight minutes to play in the first half.

UAB kept it close, though, and the teams played back-and-forth hoops through the middle span of the half. Davis' back-to-back three-pointers gave Oklahoma a 60-55 lead with just over seven minutes to play but the Blazers battled back and the teams continued to play it tight down the stretch.

The Sooners began to take over, though, in the final minutes. A pair of free throws from Taylor Griffin broke a 62-62 tie with 4 1/2 minutes left and Austin Johnson's three-point play made it a five-point game.

After Delaney nailed a jumper with 3 1/2 minutes to play, a Crocker three started a debilitating 10-0 run for Oklahoma that pushed the lead to 13 until Delaney hit a three with under 30 seconds left for the final score.

The teams traded the lead in a tight first half before the Blazers scored 10 unanswered points to take a 25-18 lead with just under seven minutes to play. Vaden drove the hoop for two to start the surge and then capped it with a three-ball. Crocker sank a three on the other end but Aaron Johnson answered with a triple of his own to keep the lead at seven. A layup from Griffin inside the final minute cut the lead to five at halftime with UAB holding a 34-29 advantage.

Game Notes:

UAB and Oklahoma have clashed just one prior time on the hardwood and the Sooners came out on top in that tilt, 71-63, in the first round of the 1983 NCAA Tournament...The Blazers were hoping to match their best start ever, set during the 1983-84 campaign...The Sooners captured the glass with a 39-28 rebounding edge...UAB forced 17 turnovers and turned them into 20 points on the other end...Oklahoma shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the floor while UAB hit for an even 40 percent (26-of-65)...Crocker was 4-of-10 shooting overall with nine of his attempts from three-point range while Davis had each of his eight attempts come from beyond the arc...Vaden was 7-of-19 shooting overall and took 10 shots from three-point range.