JimBob
02-24-2008, 08:35 AM
Jayhawks rocked
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
2/24/2008
Eaton clutch for OSU with late free throw
STILLWATER -- All the turbulence Oklahoma State's basketball team endured this season seemed to indicate that a storm was brewing.
Who knew it would be the kind of storm where fans flooded the court?
Fans spilled out of Gallagher-Iba Arena seats and celebrated on the white maple playing surface following OSU's third consecutive -- and biggest yet -- save-the-season victory. The Cowboys got a career-high 26 points from Byron Eaton, including a game-winning free throw with 12.6 seconds left, and beat fourth-ranked Kansas 61-60 Saturday.
Does former OSU and Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson have this phrase trademarked? If not, how 'bout them Cowboys?
"It feels great, man," senior forward Marcus Dove said afterward. "We've been talking about it all week, how big of a win it would be. We've been working hard all week at practice knowing they were going to give us their all. They are not the No. 4 team in the country for no reason. It feels good to finally get a big win here at home."
It seems like only a calendar page ago that OSU was desperate for any win, big or small. The Cowboys lost six consecutive games and went 2-7 to start league play.
Now they have won three straight Big 12 games for the first time since the 2004-05 season and (thanks to a win over 16th-ranked Texas A&M the previous Saturday) have won back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the first time since toppling Pittsburgh and St. Joseph's during the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
The latest conquest was OSU's first win over a top five team since beating Syracuse on Dec. 7, 2004, and it came against a squad that Cowboy coach Sean Sutton is picking to win the national championship.
How did this happen?
"I think we willed it," Dove said. "Coming off the big win at A&M and the win against Baylor, we just wanted it, man. It was a chance to prove to everybody that this little winning streak we are on is not a fluke."
OSU improved to 14-12 overall and 5-7 in Big 12 games while dealing Kansas its third defeat of the season. The Jayhawks are 24-3 and 9-3.
The Cowboys surrendered a nine-point second-half lead, then came from four points down in the last three minutes to give Sutton the biggest win of his two-year career.
Dove made his only field goal and perhaps the most significant shot of the game when he cashed a 3-pointer with 58.8 seconds left, transforming a one-point deficit into a 60-58 cushion.
"That's a shot that he practices all the time and I think it's a pretty good shot for him when he gets his feet set," Sutton said. "I just had a feeling when it hit his hands that it was going to go in. Great shot, and one that he will remember the rest of his life."
KU's Darnell Jackson scored inside with 41.2 seconds left to tie the score. On OSU's ensuing possession, Eaton milked the clock and drove the basket with 12.6 seconds left, drawing a foul on KU big man Sasha Kaun. Eaton sank one of two foul shots (he made a career-high 16 free throws in 18 attempts) for a one-point lead and the Cowboys held on tight during one final possession to secure the upset.
Kansas got the ball into the hands of Brandon Rush, who scored all 12 of his points in the last 16:15, but he missed a well-defended 3-point attempt from the corner just before the final buzzer sound ed.
"They got a look," Sutton said. "But not a great look."
It was fitting that OSU won the game with a defensive stop. The Cowboys limited KU to a season-low 21 field goals and harassed the Jayhawks into 21 turnovers, one shy of a season-high.
"I thought they played good defense and better offense than us," Kansas coach and OSU alum Bill Self said. "But we stunk, and you can credit that to OSU and a large part of that to the crowd. We didn't play with much poise. I really feel that OSU played really well. I thought Eaton obviously had a fabulous game."
Eaton is averaging 22.7 points in the last three games and scored 51 points in the last two home games.
"We beat a great team tonight," Eaton said. "We just have to keep working. We need to put this behind us and come back ready to work for Missouri tomorrow."
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
2/24/2008
Eaton clutch for OSU with late free throw
STILLWATER -- All the turbulence Oklahoma State's basketball team endured this season seemed to indicate that a storm was brewing.
Who knew it would be the kind of storm where fans flooded the court?
Fans spilled out of Gallagher-Iba Arena seats and celebrated on the white maple playing surface following OSU's third consecutive -- and biggest yet -- save-the-season victory. The Cowboys got a career-high 26 points from Byron Eaton, including a game-winning free throw with 12.6 seconds left, and beat fourth-ranked Kansas 61-60 Saturday.
Does former OSU and Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson have this phrase trademarked? If not, how 'bout them Cowboys?
"It feels great, man," senior forward Marcus Dove said afterward. "We've been talking about it all week, how big of a win it would be. We've been working hard all week at practice knowing they were going to give us their all. They are not the No. 4 team in the country for no reason. It feels good to finally get a big win here at home."
It seems like only a calendar page ago that OSU was desperate for any win, big or small. The Cowboys lost six consecutive games and went 2-7 to start league play.
Now they have won three straight Big 12 games for the first time since the 2004-05 season and (thanks to a win over 16th-ranked Texas A&M the previous Saturday) have won back-to-back games against ranked opponents for the first time since toppling Pittsburgh and St. Joseph's during the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
The latest conquest was OSU's first win over a top five team since beating Syracuse on Dec. 7, 2004, and it came against a squad that Cowboy coach Sean Sutton is picking to win the national championship.
How did this happen?
"I think we willed it," Dove said. "Coming off the big win at A&M and the win against Baylor, we just wanted it, man. It was a chance to prove to everybody that this little winning streak we are on is not a fluke."
OSU improved to 14-12 overall and 5-7 in Big 12 games while dealing Kansas its third defeat of the season. The Jayhawks are 24-3 and 9-3.
The Cowboys surrendered a nine-point second-half lead, then came from four points down in the last three minutes to give Sutton the biggest win of his two-year career.
Dove made his only field goal and perhaps the most significant shot of the game when he cashed a 3-pointer with 58.8 seconds left, transforming a one-point deficit into a 60-58 cushion.
"That's a shot that he practices all the time and I think it's a pretty good shot for him when he gets his feet set," Sutton said. "I just had a feeling when it hit his hands that it was going to go in. Great shot, and one that he will remember the rest of his life."
KU's Darnell Jackson scored inside with 41.2 seconds left to tie the score. On OSU's ensuing possession, Eaton milked the clock and drove the basket with 12.6 seconds left, drawing a foul on KU big man Sasha Kaun. Eaton sank one of two foul shots (he made a career-high 16 free throws in 18 attempts) for a one-point lead and the Cowboys held on tight during one final possession to secure the upset.
Kansas got the ball into the hands of Brandon Rush, who scored all 12 of his points in the last 16:15, but he missed a well-defended 3-point attempt from the corner just before the final buzzer sound ed.
"They got a look," Sutton said. "But not a great look."
It was fitting that OSU won the game with a defensive stop. The Cowboys limited KU to a season-low 21 field goals and harassed the Jayhawks into 21 turnovers, one shy of a season-high.
"I thought they played good defense and better offense than us," Kansas coach and OSU alum Bill Self said. "But we stunk, and you can credit that to OSU and a large part of that to the crowd. We didn't play with much poise. I really feel that OSU played really well. I thought Eaton obviously had a fabulous game."
Eaton is averaging 22.7 points in the last three games and scored 51 points in the last two home games.
"We beat a great team tonight," Eaton said. "We just have to keep working. We need to put this behind us and come back ready to work for Missouri tomorrow."