WyomingOSUAlum
02-17-2008, 07:43 AM
http://newsok.com/article/3205545/1203223963
By Andrea Cohen
Staff Writer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas Oklahoma State, fighting to break out of a 19-game road losing streak, had a lead on Texas A&M on Saturday and a victory in sight.
But then came those same little mistakes that had helped build the streak in the first place. An OSU turnover, followed by another, followed by an Aggie fast break to tie it up.
"I had already counted it, Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "I was looking at the clock to see how much time was left to see how the possessions would go.
Not so fast.
Terrel Harris came streaking down the court to block a layup by A&M's Donald Sloan and save the day. Final score OSU 59, No. 16 Texas A&M 54.
"I thought I was the last man back, OSU's Marcus Dove said. "I looked behind and I just seen (Sloan) about to lay the ball up and I thought, Oh no, here we go again.'
But Harris saw something different. He saw an opportunity to make up for that turnover, and an opportunity to grasp onto the OSU lead everybody else saw slipping away.
"I just saw a wide-open guy and I didn't want to lose, so I went up and blocked him, Harris said. "That was just the instinct I had.
Said Dove, who had a big block of his own a couple minutes earlier: "Out of nowhere. Terrel just came out of nowhere and blocked the shot. That was a great play and basically he saved the game for us.
Oklahoma State maintained control, and sophomore Obi Muonelo after bobbling the ball off his head was fouled and knocked down a pair of crucial free throws with 16.4 seconds to play to seal it.
It was OSU's first victory on the road since Feb. 4, 2006, coach Sean Sutton's first road victory and the Cowboys' first win over a ranked team since beating Texas A&M in last year's Big 12 Tournament.
"I'm happy for our guys and really proud of them, because I know that they were tired, and our fans are tired of this losing streak on the road, Sutton said. "So this is a big burden to finally get behind us, and I thought it was just a really good team effort from start to finish.
For the second game in a row, point guard Byron Eaton was the headliner. The junior scored 17 points, had five assists and shot 60 percent from the floor. Sutton called him "tremendous on the offensive end and complimented his decision-making.
"Byron Eaton was in total control of the game, Turgeon said. "We couldn't control his penetration. He used every shot clock. We couldn't get a rebound. They had the hustle plays and got the 50/50 balls. We didn't. That's inexcusable.
The Aggies made just six field goals in the second half. Even with Dove, OSU's best defender, sitting out nearly nine minutes of the second half in foul trouble, A&M big men Joseph Jones and Bryan Davis scored just one field goal each. DeAndre Jordan led A&M with 15 points but had just four in the second half.
"I thought the second half was about as good as we've played on the defensive end all season long, Sutton said. "We came up with some key stops.
The biggest crowd in A&M history (13,584) started heading for the exits when Muonelo's free throws put OSU up four points. Winning on the road was a first for the sophomore, who scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sending Aggie fans home disappointed was everything he hoped it would be.
"To come on the road, in a hostile environment like this, and get a win is a great feeling, Muonelo said. "This is definitely a greater feeling than any I've had all year.
By Andrea Cohen
Staff Writer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas Oklahoma State, fighting to break out of a 19-game road losing streak, had a lead on Texas A&M on Saturday and a victory in sight.
But then came those same little mistakes that had helped build the streak in the first place. An OSU turnover, followed by another, followed by an Aggie fast break to tie it up.
"I had already counted it, Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "I was looking at the clock to see how much time was left to see how the possessions would go.
Not so fast.
Terrel Harris came streaking down the court to block a layup by A&M's Donald Sloan and save the day. Final score OSU 59, No. 16 Texas A&M 54.
"I thought I was the last man back, OSU's Marcus Dove said. "I looked behind and I just seen (Sloan) about to lay the ball up and I thought, Oh no, here we go again.'
But Harris saw something different. He saw an opportunity to make up for that turnover, and an opportunity to grasp onto the OSU lead everybody else saw slipping away.
"I just saw a wide-open guy and I didn't want to lose, so I went up and blocked him, Harris said. "That was just the instinct I had.
Said Dove, who had a big block of his own a couple minutes earlier: "Out of nowhere. Terrel just came out of nowhere and blocked the shot. That was a great play and basically he saved the game for us.
Oklahoma State maintained control, and sophomore Obi Muonelo after bobbling the ball off his head was fouled and knocked down a pair of crucial free throws with 16.4 seconds to play to seal it.
It was OSU's first victory on the road since Feb. 4, 2006, coach Sean Sutton's first road victory and the Cowboys' first win over a ranked team since beating Texas A&M in last year's Big 12 Tournament.
"I'm happy for our guys and really proud of them, because I know that they were tired, and our fans are tired of this losing streak on the road, Sutton said. "So this is a big burden to finally get behind us, and I thought it was just a really good team effort from start to finish.
For the second game in a row, point guard Byron Eaton was the headliner. The junior scored 17 points, had five assists and shot 60 percent from the floor. Sutton called him "tremendous on the offensive end and complimented his decision-making.
"Byron Eaton was in total control of the game, Turgeon said. "We couldn't control his penetration. He used every shot clock. We couldn't get a rebound. They had the hustle plays and got the 50/50 balls. We didn't. That's inexcusable.
The Aggies made just six field goals in the second half. Even with Dove, OSU's best defender, sitting out nearly nine minutes of the second half in foul trouble, A&M big men Joseph Jones and Bryan Davis scored just one field goal each. DeAndre Jordan led A&M with 15 points but had just four in the second half.
"I thought the second half was about as good as we've played on the defensive end all season long, Sutton said. "We came up with some key stops.
The biggest crowd in A&M history (13,584) started heading for the exits when Muonelo's free throws put OSU up four points. Winning on the road was a first for the sophomore, who scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Sending Aggie fans home disappointed was everything he hoped it would be.
"To come on the road, in a hostile environment like this, and get a win is a great feeling, Muonelo said. "This is definitely a greater feeling than any I've had all year.