Oklahoma State basketball pulls away from Oral Roberts to close nonconference play

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STILLWATER — Heading into Big 12 Conference play, Oklahoma State men’s basketball is still undefeated at Gallagher-Iba Arena under first-year head coach Steve Lutz.

Even though it didn’t come easy, OSU (8-3) defeated Oral Roberts 86-74 on Sunday afternoon at home, extending the Cowboys’ winning streak against the Golden Eagles to six games. The win also marked the first time since the 2016-17 season that OSU has finished nonconference play undefeated at home.

Abou Ousmane led the way with 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting (and 9 for 9 on free throws). Guards Bryce Thompson (14), Khalil Brantley (10) and Jamyron Keller (10) also scored in double figures.

Now, with Big 12 Conference play approaching, Lutz believes his team still hasn’t put together a complete 40 minutes of basketball, so he’s hopeful his team takes steps forward before its Dec. 30 conference opener at home against Houston.

“We’ve got to get better if we’re gonna expect to win a good amount of games in the Big 12,” Lutz said. “We’re either in the best league or the second-best league in the country; there’s no room for error on any given night. The teams across the board are all good.

“So we gotta make sure that we take care of our business, and all we can control is getting better each and every day.”

Here are three takeaways from the Cowboys’ win:

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Late first-half run propels OSU

During three stretches in the first half, OSU couldn’t buy a bucket.

In the three spans of four minutes or longer, the Cowboys didn’t make one field goal. They scored 15 points in those droughts, though, courtesy of free throws, but the untimely droughts kept ORU hanging around.

But two Ousmane free throws set up an OSU 9-2 run in the last 1:37 of the first half, and from there, the Cowboys never looked back.

Arturo Dean must have had enough of the Golden Eagles, as the junior guard, who averages 1.9 steals for OSU (he led the NCAA with 104…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-state-basketball-pulls-away-223017167.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-12-22 22:30:00

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