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Oklahoma State Basketball

Oklahoma State Hangs on for 67-60 Win Over West Virginia

January 2, 2023
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STILLWATER – With former Oklahoma State great Marcus Smart sitting courtside, Oklahoma State won a defensive-heavy game over West Virginia, 67-60, to earn its first win of conference play.

With the win, the Cowboys move to 9-5 on the season, 1-1 in Big 12 play.

It was an important game for the Pokes as much like the Kansas game, they led by double-digits, 13, before the Mountaineers came back and took their first lead of the game. However, unlike the KU game, the Pokes fought back and reclaimed the lead, a big moment to build upon moving forward.

Bryce Thompson led the way in scoring for the Pokes with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Avery Anderson III, John-Michael Wright and Kalib Boone all scored in double figures as well, Anderson III with 13 before fouling out, Wright with 11 and Boone with 10. Boone also tied Tyreek Smith for the most rebounds for the Pokes at six apiece.

The Pokes were outrebounded 37-30, but were solid down low as they scored 34 points in the paint, while holding WVU to just 14 points in the paint.

As most Big 12 games could go this year for the Pokes, it came down to the final minute. Up three points, 63-60, Kalib Boone hit a big hook shot with just over :30 left to put the Pokes up five, 65-60.

A missed bucket by WVU led to a foul, which sent Caleb Asberry to the line, who made both free throws, putting the Pokes up seven and clinching the game.

It took a few minutes of defensive pressure on both ends, but Avery Anderson III hit the first bucket of the game with a strong move to the rim, which was called a goaltend. On the other end, Anderson III forced a turnover, which led to a fastbreak bucket by Thompson, putting the Pokes on top 4-0 in less than 30 seconds.

The Cowboys never trailed in the first half, leading by as much as eight points, 15-7, at the 9:51 mark on a Moussa Cisse jumper. The Cowboys were able to improve upon their largest lead of the half as they went into the break lead the Mountaineers, 31-22, on a Quion Williams layup with less than a minute remaining.

The Mountaineers made a game of it in the second half, cutting into the Pokes’ lead, 42-39, following four-straight made free throws and a bucket by Tre Mitchell.

On the ensuing OSU possession, however, Q Williams made the extra pass out the corner in front of the OSU bench to Caleb Asberry, who drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Pokes back up six, 45-39, with 11:25 remaining in the game.

Erik Stevenson cut the Pokes’ lead to just one, 51-50, with a fastbreak 3-pointer, then nailed another one less than 20 seconds later to give WVU its first lead of the game, 53-51. He then picked up a quick technical foul a few seconds later for taunting the crowd as he made his way back down the court.

Kalib Boone got the Pokes back within one, 57-56, just under five minutes left in the game, leading to a Mike Boynton timeout. Out of the break, Tyreek Smith hauled in his fifth rebound of the game. On the other end, Thompson was fouled on his way to the bucket, gave the Pokes the lead back with two free throws, 58-57, with the Mountaineers turning the ball over just a few seconds later.

Anderson III hit a big bucket down the baseline to put the Pokes back up four, 62-58, just under the two-minute mark, before picking up his fifth foul on the other end.

A John-Michael Wright free throw put the Pokes back up five, 63-58, with 1:19 left, leading to a Bob Huggins timeout back down the court with 1:10 remaining.

It was a turning point for the Pokes in the final minute as they posted another four points to extend their lead to seven.

The Cowboys have a tough one on deck as they’ll play host to No. 2 Texas on Saturday, Jan. 7. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.

Discussion from...

Oklahoma State Hangs on for 67-60 Win Over West Virginia

1,450 Views | 2 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by CaliforniaCowboy
PaloDuroPoke
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Glad they pulled it out. Praying this young man in Buffalo is ok. Lord be with Mr Hamlin and his family.
CaliforniaCowboy
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I had not watched much of WVU prior to this game, but I thought for sure that they would be better at driving to the hoop (some of which may have been stopped by the zone defense), or easily shooting over the zone.

Neither really happened. It was just an ugly game to watch with each team taking terrible shots and committing unforced turnovers.

When Cisse turned his ankle I thought he would be out for at least a month... it looked that bad... I was so surprised to see him come back into the game, albeit a little lame.

I almost laughed out loud when less than 1 minute into the game, the announcer says, this OSU team doesn't really have PG or a floor leader....... yeah, no kidding.
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