Oklahoma State Rallies and Battles Past Davidson 84-80 in NIT Opening Round
STILLWATER – It took all 40 minutes, but Oklahoma State rallied from trailing 10 points at the half to beat Davidson 84-80 in the opening round of the NIT.
With the win, the Cowboys moved to 20-14 overall on the season and will host Wichita State in the second round on Saturday in Stillwater.
This was one of the toughest games the Cowboys played all season, but not because they were playing their toughest opponent. It was announced just before tipoff leading scorer Anthony Roy, Vyctorius Miller and Isaiah Coleman had all been suspended for the game. A reason wasn’t specified, but it forced Steve Lutz to work deep into the bench, and it paid off late.
The duo of Kanye Clary and Christian Coleman were great as Clary posted a team-high 20 points, while Coleman put up 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 13 rebounds.
Ben Ahmed got the start with the absence of Roy and the injuries to Parsa Fallah and Andrija Vukovic. The freshman posted an impressive 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and six rebounds.
But it was the trio of Daniel Guetta, Kirk Cole and Mekhi Ragland off the bench who provided the spark for the Pokes. Guetta posted 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, while Cole and Ragland combined for 11.
While Davidson led 50-40 at the break, it was Cole, Guetta and Ragland who helped tie the game up at 30 apiece with just five minutes left in the first half, the first tie since just two minutes into the game. That came off an impressive 12-2 run by the Wildcats, who took a 14-point lead just six minutes earlier in the half.
As a team, the Cowboys shot 50% from the floor on 28-of-56 shooting, and impressive 47% from 3-point range on 7-of-15 shooting and 21-of-30 from the free throw line. While missed free throws nearly doomed the Pokes, free throws also saved the Pokes as the Wildcats were just 5-of-7 from the line.
