Oklahoma State Takes NIT Round One With 89-79 Game of Runs Over Wichita State

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State Cowboys advanced to the second round of the NIT with a 89-79 win over Wichita State in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Tuesday night.

With the win, the Cowboys moved to 16-17 overall on the season. 

Bryce Thompson was on fire in the first half as he scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also had three boards. 

Thompson finished the game with 23 points, just two points shy of tying his career high. It was also an impressive performance from Brandon Newman, who finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

As a team, the Cowboys had five scorers in double figures with Thompson with 23, Abou Ousmane with 13, Khalil Brantley and Jamyron Keller with 12 apiece and Newman with 10. 

The Pokes shot a combined 44% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and 69% from the free throw line. They outrebounded the Shockers 46-42, including 17-15 on the offensive end leading to 21 second chance points. They outscored the Shockers 31-10 off the bench and forced three more turnovers, leading to 12 points.

The Cowboys led by 15 points with just under five minutes left in the first half, before the Shockers came roaring back and made it a five-point game at the break, 40-35, with the Pokes on top.

The Shockers continued their solid play out of the half as Washington converted a three-point play to make it a two-point game just 12 seconds in the half, 40-38. The Shockers took the lead on a three two minutes into the second half, giving them a 19-3 run since the Pokes led by 15 points. 

Thompson scored the first points of the second half for the Pokes, two free throws, two and a half minutes into the half, which tied the game back up at 42. 

The Cowboys started to turn up the pressure just over 12 minutes left in the game as they jumped out to a 59-52 lead with 11:45 left in the game. That led to a bucket by Beverly on the other end to make it a five-point game, 59-54, with 11:27 left and the media timeout. 

The Cowboys extended their lead up to 13 points following a bucket from Vukovic, a 3-pointer from Brantley and a three-point play on a put-back bucket by Connor Dow, making it 67-54 with just over nine minutes remaining. That was followed by a quick 5-0 run by the Shockers to make it an eight-point game once again, this time 67-59. 

The Cowboys continued to battle the rest of the second half, keeping the game at double figures for most of the rest of the game.