JimBob
02-27-2008, 08:58 AM
Cowboy heroics
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
2/27/2008
Eaton's last-second jumper caps Okahoma State's rally
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Remember when the only kind of luck Oklahoma State had was the bad kind?
"You can't stay down all the time," said junior guard Byron Eaton, who rattled in a game-winning 12-footer with 1.7 seconds remaining to give OSU a 75-73 triumph over Missouri in an ESPNU-televised game Tuesday night.
A crowd of 7,692 at 15,061-seat Mizzou Arena watched OSU rally from an eight-point deficit in the last 11 minutes and overcome a monster performance by Missouri forward Leo Lyons (career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting and career-high 18 rebounds) to win a fourth consecutive game and a second consecutive road game.
"Great win," said OSU coach Sean Sutton, who was concerned about what his team's emotion level would be in the first game since a Saturday homecourt ambush of Kansas.
Sutton said his team was "pretty sluggish" early and he gave credit to Missouri for playing hard. But the now-blessed-with-good-karma Cowboys survived a less-than- their-best performance by drilling a season-high 14 3-pointers in 24 tries.
"We made shots when we needed baskets, answer baskets to runs," said Sutton, whose team improved to 15-12 overall and 6-7 in the Big 12, matching the league win total of each of the last two years.
"I thought there would be a game at some point this season where we would hit a bunch of 3s. It came at the perfect time."
The biggest 3-point bomb was launched, for the second consecutive game, by Marcus Dove, who was considered an offensive liability before his senior season. Dove hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute against Kansas and the Cowboys never trailed in this game after he flushed a 3-pointer with 2:04 left.
"We ran the exact same play as a matter of fact that we did against Kansas and they did the exact same thing as Kansas did," Dove said. "They trapped Byron, which they were doing all night trying to get the ball out of his hands. When they threw it back to me, I saw (Obi Muonelo's defender) try to cheat over, so I was about to pass it to Obi, but he didn't come all the way over, so I took the shot and thank God I hit it."
Keon Lawrence drove for a basket to tie the score at 73 with 34 seconds left.
With the shot clock turned off, Sutton wanted to hold the ball for a final shot.
Eaton dribbled the clock down and, attacking from the right side of the court, he drove toward the basket and stopped. Eaton had hoped that Missouri (15-13, 5-8) would switch or double team, giving him a couple of playmaking options. Instead, he had to improvise and got just enough room to throw in a game-winner.
"It felt good," Eaton said. "I thought it was going to hit the backboard or something hard and give my team a chance to get a quick tip or something, but once it got up on the rim, I knew it was going in then."
Eaton, Dove and Terrel Harris each scored 15 points and James Anderson added 13 as OSU moved within a half game of fourth place in the Big 12.
Eaton said the Cowboys are on a roll "and a lot of things are going our way."
Of course, he wants to keep momentum as a pal.
"I'm 0-for-2 making it to the NCAA Tournament," he said. "I'm tired of it. I want to get there this year. I want to see how it feels to get your named called on Selection Sunday."
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
2/27/2008
Eaton's last-second jumper caps Okahoma State's rally
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Remember when the only kind of luck Oklahoma State had was the bad kind?
"You can't stay down all the time," said junior guard Byron Eaton, who rattled in a game-winning 12-footer with 1.7 seconds remaining to give OSU a 75-73 triumph over Missouri in an ESPNU-televised game Tuesday night.
A crowd of 7,692 at 15,061-seat Mizzou Arena watched OSU rally from an eight-point deficit in the last 11 minutes and overcome a monster performance by Missouri forward Leo Lyons (career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting and career-high 18 rebounds) to win a fourth consecutive game and a second consecutive road game.
"Great win," said OSU coach Sean Sutton, who was concerned about what his team's emotion level would be in the first game since a Saturday homecourt ambush of Kansas.
Sutton said his team was "pretty sluggish" early and he gave credit to Missouri for playing hard. But the now-blessed-with-good-karma Cowboys survived a less-than- their-best performance by drilling a season-high 14 3-pointers in 24 tries.
"We made shots when we needed baskets, answer baskets to runs," said Sutton, whose team improved to 15-12 overall and 6-7 in the Big 12, matching the league win total of each of the last two years.
"I thought there would be a game at some point this season where we would hit a bunch of 3s. It came at the perfect time."
The biggest 3-point bomb was launched, for the second consecutive game, by Marcus Dove, who was considered an offensive liability before his senior season. Dove hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute against Kansas and the Cowboys never trailed in this game after he flushed a 3-pointer with 2:04 left.
"We ran the exact same play as a matter of fact that we did against Kansas and they did the exact same thing as Kansas did," Dove said. "They trapped Byron, which they were doing all night trying to get the ball out of his hands. When they threw it back to me, I saw (Obi Muonelo's defender) try to cheat over, so I was about to pass it to Obi, but he didn't come all the way over, so I took the shot and thank God I hit it."
Keon Lawrence drove for a basket to tie the score at 73 with 34 seconds left.
With the shot clock turned off, Sutton wanted to hold the ball for a final shot.
Eaton dribbled the clock down and, attacking from the right side of the court, he drove toward the basket and stopped. Eaton had hoped that Missouri (15-13, 5-8) would switch or double team, giving him a couple of playmaking options. Instead, he had to improvise and got just enough room to throw in a game-winner.
"It felt good," Eaton said. "I thought it was going to hit the backboard or something hard and give my team a chance to get a quick tip or something, but once it got up on the rim, I knew it was going in then."
Eaton, Dove and Terrel Harris each scored 15 points and James Anderson added 13 as OSU moved within a half game of fourth place in the Big 12.
Eaton said the Cowboys are on a roll "and a lot of things are going our way."
Of course, he wants to keep momentum as a pal.
"I'm 0-for-2 making it to the NCAA Tournament," he said. "I'm tired of it. I want to get there this year. I want to see how it feels to get your named called on Selection Sunday."