AnniePokely
12-02-2007, 07:42 AM
• Cowboy cagers move to 3-3 with 96-71 win
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
When asked what was at stake Saturday, Byron Eaton had a simple answer.
“Pride,” the Oklahoma State junior said. “We needed to make a statement.”
The Cowboys suffered back-to-back losses against then-No. 11 Marquette and Illinois during last week’s EA Sports Maui Invitational and were in need of a big victory.
Mission accomplished.
OSU routed Washington, 96-71, in front of 9,386 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena as part of the inaugural Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. The Cowboys shot 58.2 percent from the field and committed 14 turnovers — which tied for their lowest total of the season.
“When you get your butt whipped twice on national TV, a lot of people are going to be watching to see how you’re going to respond, how you’re going to fight back,” said OSU coach Sean Sutton. “I thought they came ready and they came focused.
“That was a great effort and a really important win. I thought we lost a little confidence over in Maui, and this ought to show them that when we play at a high level, we can beat good teams.”
The Huskies took the lead twice early in the first half and evened the score, 21-21, when Jon Brockman connected on a pair of free throws at the 8:05 mark. O-State responded with a 16-4 run and held a 51-32 advantage at intermission.
The Cowboys hit 61.5 percent of their three-point attempts in the opening half and totaled a season-best 11 treys. O-State posted five straight points to start the second half and the Huskies didn’t come within 20 points the rest of the way.
“In the last five minutes of the first half, we just really turned it on and tried to take the (lead) to 20 points and try to crush them,” said OSU junior Terrel Harris.
Eaton added, “We need to start making teams play from behind. ... We’re going to be a lot better than we were. The main thing was getting back and letting everybody know (Maui) was a bad week for us, and (Saturday) is how it’s going to be for the rest of the season.”
The Cowboys (3-3) had four players who reached double figures including freshman James Anderson, who connected on 4-of-6 shots from three-point range and recorded a team-high 22 points. Anderson has scored double digits in each of OSU’s games so far.
“As we watched (OSU) play in the other games, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a good freshman,’” said UW coach Lorenzo Romar. “When the game began, he didn’t play like a freshman. I was real impressed with him.”
Harris added, “James just has a knack for scoring. Anybody that averages 40 points in high school, I don’t care if you’re playing midgets, 40 points is 40 points. It’s not just a fluke. People realize that he’s really a good scorer and I think he’s one of the best freshmen in the country.”
Harris added 14 points while Eaton and sophomore Obi Muonelo each contributed 12. In 16 minutes of action off the bench, freshman Nick Sidorakis chipped in with seven points and a game-high five assists.
“(Sidorakis) played really well and that’s the way he practiced this week,” Sutton said. “He’s tough, he’s smart and knows how to run a team. He gave us a big lift off the bench which I think is huge for down the road.”
For the Huskies, Brockman recorded 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, Justin Dentmon added 17 points and Joel Smith chipped in with 10. Romar’s squad turned the ball over a season-high 20 times.
“When you come in here and (the Cowboys) play with a lot of confidence, you don’t have a whole lot of margin for error,” Romar said. “I thought they capitalized on just about every mistake we made.”
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
When asked what was at stake Saturday, Byron Eaton had a simple answer.
“Pride,” the Oklahoma State junior said. “We needed to make a statement.”
The Cowboys suffered back-to-back losses against then-No. 11 Marquette and Illinois during last week’s EA Sports Maui Invitational and were in need of a big victory.
Mission accomplished.
OSU routed Washington, 96-71, in front of 9,386 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena as part of the inaugural Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. The Cowboys shot 58.2 percent from the field and committed 14 turnovers — which tied for their lowest total of the season.
“When you get your butt whipped twice on national TV, a lot of people are going to be watching to see how you’re going to respond, how you’re going to fight back,” said OSU coach Sean Sutton. “I thought they came ready and they came focused.
“That was a great effort and a really important win. I thought we lost a little confidence over in Maui, and this ought to show them that when we play at a high level, we can beat good teams.”
The Huskies took the lead twice early in the first half and evened the score, 21-21, when Jon Brockman connected on a pair of free throws at the 8:05 mark. O-State responded with a 16-4 run and held a 51-32 advantage at intermission.
The Cowboys hit 61.5 percent of their three-point attempts in the opening half and totaled a season-best 11 treys. O-State posted five straight points to start the second half and the Huskies didn’t come within 20 points the rest of the way.
“In the last five minutes of the first half, we just really turned it on and tried to take the (lead) to 20 points and try to crush them,” said OSU junior Terrel Harris.
Eaton added, “We need to start making teams play from behind. ... We’re going to be a lot better than we were. The main thing was getting back and letting everybody know (Maui) was a bad week for us, and (Saturday) is how it’s going to be for the rest of the season.”
The Cowboys (3-3) had four players who reached double figures including freshman James Anderson, who connected on 4-of-6 shots from three-point range and recorded a team-high 22 points. Anderson has scored double digits in each of OSU’s games so far.
“As we watched (OSU) play in the other games, I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a good freshman,’” said UW coach Lorenzo Romar. “When the game began, he didn’t play like a freshman. I was real impressed with him.”
Harris added, “James just has a knack for scoring. Anybody that averages 40 points in high school, I don’t care if you’re playing midgets, 40 points is 40 points. It’s not just a fluke. People realize that he’s really a good scorer and I think he’s one of the best freshmen in the country.”
Harris added 14 points while Eaton and sophomore Obi Muonelo each contributed 12. In 16 minutes of action off the bench, freshman Nick Sidorakis chipped in with seven points and a game-high five assists.
“(Sidorakis) played really well and that’s the way he practiced this week,” Sutton said. “He’s tough, he’s smart and knows how to run a team. He gave us a big lift off the bench which I think is huge for down the road.”
For the Huskies, Brockman recorded 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, Justin Dentmon added 17 points and Joel Smith chipped in with 10. Romar’s squad turned the ball over a season-high 20 times.
“When you come in here and (the Cowboys) play with a lot of confidence, you don’t have a whole lot of margin for error,” Romar said. “I thought they capitalized on just about every mistake we made.”