Early Defense Sets The Tone For Cowboy Basketball In Win Over Incarnate Word
Cowboy basketball coach Steve Lutz has never made it a secret that he expects his team to perform at a high level defensively. His team’s season opener showed several flashes of the defense that he wants.
Oklahoma State beat Incarnate Word 91-60 on Monday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys held the Cardinals to 17 points in the first half and forced 12 turnovers. That was the fewest points allowed by OSU since 2022 against UCF.
“Coming out we felt like we had a lot to prove,” guard Jacob Walker said. “Unfortunately in the second half we got a lot more comfortable.”
The Sam Houston transfer led the team with four of the team’s 10 steals.
“I was just taking what the defense gave me,” Walker said. “They collapsed a lot in different situations and we have guys who can make shots so it made my life easier.”
UIW did not attempt a free throw until the 14:52 mark of the second half. Oklahoma State committed 20 fouls but only six in the first half.
“In the first half we were really aggressive and had a lot of deflections and imposed our will,” Lutz said. “We have to make the first half our DNA.”
Walker’s Sam Houston counterpart Kashie Natt, last year’s Conference USA Defensive Player Of The Year, had a game that went beyond the stat sheet. Natt had one block and one steal but was a constant disruption against the Cardinals offense. He was seemingly always the first to dive after balls or swipe at a dribble to cause a ballhandler to have to retreat and regroup. He was expected all offseason to be a major contributor defensively.
“Kashie is a guy who can do so much more than score the ball and that’s his superpower,” Walker said. “Having a teammate like that is amazing.”
UIW committed 21 turnovers which resulted in 27 Cowboys points. Three of those happened during an initial 12-0 run for the Cowboys that forced an early timeout.
“They delivered a really powerful first punch and I was disappointed that we didn’t respond better to it,” UIW coach Shane Heirman said. “We just put ourselves in a big hole to recover from.”
The Cowboys’ defense continues to be an area of focus moving forward.
“We have to be able to do it for 40 minutes,” Lutz said. “If we can do it for 18 or 20 minutes then there’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to replicate it for 40 minutes.”
