Postgame Notes: Oklahoma State 67 -- West Virginia 60

Oklahoma State - 67, West Virginia - 60

Jan. 2, 2022 | Stillwater, OK (Gallagher-Iba Arena) 

Updated Records: Oklahoma State 9-5 overall, 1-1 Big 12 I West Virginia 10-4 overall, 0-2 Big 12 

Oklahoma State Leaders: Points - Bryce Thompson - 15, Assists - John-Michael Wright - 4, Rebounds - Kalib Boone, Tyreek Smith - 6

West Virginia Leaders: Points - Erik Stevenson - 17, Assists - Three tied - 2, Rebounds - Jimmy Bell Jr. - 9

Game Flow

• Avery Anderson III got the Cowboys on the board with a driving layup to take the 2-0 lead to open the 2022-23 Big 12 home opener. 
• The Cowboys took a 6-2 lead to first media timeout, forcing three turnovers and holding WVU to 1-of-5 shooting from the field.
• OSU continued to play suffocating defense, holding the Mountaineers to 22 percent on its first nine shots. The Cowboys led 11-4 with 11:58 remaining in the first half.
• The Cowboys held the seven-point lead going into the under-eight media timeout after a monstrous jam by Moussa Cisse off the lob from Bryce Thompson.
• OSU led 26-19 with 2:40 remaining in the half behind ten points on 4-of-5 shooting from John-Michael Wright.
• The Cowboys headed into the halftime break leading 31-22 after shooting 48 percent from the field and outscoring WVU 18-to-6 in the paint.
• Bryce Thomspon started the second half with a bang, making his second three of the game on the first possession.
• WVU came within three points of the Cowboys, but Caleb Asberry hit a bigtime three-pointer to give the Pokes a 45-39 lead with 11:02 left in the contest.
• WVU took its first lead of the game after back-to-back threes with 7:17 left.
• The Cowboys answered with a 6-0 run to take a 60-57 lead with three minutes left.
• OSU ended the game on a 7-2 run to grab its first conference victory of the 2022-23 season, winning 67-60.

Game Notes 

• Head coach Mike Boynton has stayed with the same starting-five in all 14 games this season, going with Avery Anderson III, Bryce Thompson, John-Michael Wright, Kalib Boone and Moussa Cisse. The 14 games is the longest the Cowboys have gone with the same starting-five since the 2018-19 season.
• OSU held West Virginia to their season low in points in a half, restricting them to 22 points in the first 20 minutes of play. The last time the Mountaineers were held to 22 or less in a half came versus the Kansas Jayhawks on March 10, 2022, tallying a 19-point first half. 
• Moussa Cisse climbed to 13th place on the Cowboys’ all-time block leaders list, passing Johnny Pittman and tying Desmond Mason. Cisse now sits at 92 career blocks.
• OSU’s offense is steadily improving, scoring more than 30 points in 15 of its last 19 halves of basketball.
• OSU has held 12 of its 14 opponents to 35 percent shooting or less from the three-point line, and nine of 14 have shot less than 30 percent.
• Avery Anderson III is close to reaching the illustrious 1,000 career-point mark, needing just 22 more points after putting up 13 against the Mountaineers.
• Bryce Thompson continues to shoot the three-ball extremely well for the Cowboys, making 18 threes in the Cowboys’ last four games after adding two against WVU.
• John-Michael Wright’s offense has been a massive spark for the Cowboys, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-4 from deep, while also leading the team in assists with four.
• Over the past four games, Wright is averaging 13 points, while shooting 46 percent from three on 6.5 attempts per game.
• Moussa Cisse now has 38 blocks on the season, the same amount as the second and third ranked players in the Big 12 combined.
• Avery Anderson III recorded two steals against the Jayhawks on Saturday. Anderson has upped his defensive prowess this season, averaging a career-high 2.2 steals per game, which ranks fourth in the Big 12.
• Chris Harris Jr. has now recorded at least one steal in five-straight games after snatching two on Monday.
• Oklahoma State’s Win…
• Improved the Cowboys to 12-11 all-time in the West Virginia series.
• Pushed the Cowboys to 5-6 at home in the series.
• Improved OSU to 6-1 at home this season.

Team Streaks

• OSU has made at least one three-pointer in 741 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 13, 2001.
• Dating back to the Sam Houston game (ten halves of basketball), Oklahoma State has allowed teams to make more than nine field goals in a half just four times). The OSU defense has held teams to nine or less made field goals in four of its past six halves. 
• The Cowboys offense has shot 40 percent or better from the field in three-straight games and five of the last six games.
• The Cowboys have posted ten or more assists in 22 of their past 26 games dating back to last season. 
• Dating back to last season, OSU has held 17 of its past 18 opponents under their season scoring average.
• Oklahoma State has used its size to dominate in the paint offensively, outscoring eleven of its 14 opponents in the paint.
• Moussa Cisse has now recorded at least one block in each of his past 24 games. There have been just three games in his Oklahoma State career in which he did not record at least one block.
• Cisse has reached at least two blocks in 14 of the past 18 games dating back to last season, tallying 48 total in those 18 games.
• As a team, the Cowboys have reached at least three blocks in all 14 games this season. OSU leads the Big 12 with 5.1 blocked shots per game.
• Avery Anderson III has made a name for himself with his hounding on-ball defense. The senior guard has recorded at least two steals in 10 of the Cowboys first 14 games.
• The Cowboys have made 10 or more free throws in ten of the first 14 games this season after doing so in 18 of their 30 games last season.