STILLWATER — Oklahoma State played some of its best basketball of the season as they led the entire game against No. 19 BYU, leading to a 93-83 upset over the Cougars. Let’s be completely candid here. This week with the open talk in the media about the program, this season’s record, and even more, some Boynton just clued the media in on after the game it was a rough week. To be totally truthful this team came out of all that and played their best game of the season.
This was the most points the Cowboys have scored in Big 12 play this season.
“It feels really good,” head coach Mike Boynton said of the win over No. 19 BYU. “It’s a step forward for these guys in terms of had a bye [week], which kind of turned into not as traditional as we would’ve handled it. We had some illness run through our team a little bit. The way they competed, the entire game, was something every coach kind of hopes to see every game. It doesn’t happen every game, but just the connectivity from the first possession at the beginning of the game to the last possession. I thought they flew around, they tried to challenge as much as possible, they rebounded well. We didn’t rebound great, but well enough. And things always look better when the ball goes in and we shot the ball well."
“Give them credit,” BYU head coach Mark Pope said after his No. 25-ranked team lost to the Cowboys. “They played well, they were athletic and they did a good job of guarding us outside and a good job of competing inside. This is a good basketball team we played today.”
With the win, the Cowboys move to 11-14 on the season and 3-9 in Big 12 play. It also ended a 10-game winless streak against ranked opponents.
Freshman Jamyron Keller had the best game of his young college career. He finished the game with a career-high 22 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the floor, 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
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Garrison’s game is exploding on offense and so is his defense.
It was also a great game for Brandon Garrison, who scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor and 7-of-12 from the free throw line with five rebounds. Javon Small with 14 points, John-Michael Wright with 13 points and Quion Willams with 15 points.
Wright had those points and three rebounds and played good defense. Boynton told the media that he did not practice all week. They were just trying to keep him hydrated and get as much of out him as they could.
“It feels really good,” head coach Mike Boynton said after the contest. “With all candor, it is a step forward for these guys in terms that we had a bye and it turned into not being as traditional as we would have handled it because we had some illness going through the team a little bit. The way they competed for the entire game is what every coach wants to see every game. The connectivity literally from the first possession to the last possession was great.
The Cowboys shot the ball very well from the field, going 60% from the field and 50% from, 3-point range as a team. Free throws were a different story as they combined for just 69% from the charity stripe on 20-of-29 shooting. That was led by Kellers’ perfect shooting afternoon.
“It was easy with the support from my teammates,” Keller said on his 19th birthday. We were down a little bit this week. It was a collective effort. The right plays were made.”
Asked his toughest play? “Probably one of the and ones,” Keller answered.
It was one of the best 15 minutes of basketball for the Pokes to start the first half. They jumped out to a 29-16 lead in the first 10 minutes, with freshmen and sophomores combining for 17 of the Pokes first 20 points, 10 of which came from Jamyron Keller.
In the first 12 minutes of the game, the Cowboys shot a blistering 72% from the field on 13-of-18 shooting. They also held the Cougars to just 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range during that time.
“Contesting as many of them as possible was the key,” Boynton said of the three-point defense that was stressed all week. “You can’t stop them from shooting, but you want them to shoot the ball with somebody contesting them and I thought they did that at a really high level.
After that incredible start, the Cowboys really started to struggle as their 15-point lead, 35-20, dwindled quickly following a near-six minute scoring drought. The Cougars cut the deficit to just six points, 35-29, before Javon Small drilled a 3-pointer.
The Pokes showed a toughness we’ve yet to really see this season as they didn’t back down to the pressure from BYU, but turned up their own pressure in the final 1:15 of the first half as they scored eight points, including a layup from Quion Williams with five seconds left to put the Pokes back up by 15 points, 49-34.
They seemingly picked right back up in the second half where they left off in the first by extending their lead to their largest, 52-34.
The Cowboys were able to hang on to their impressive lead throughout the first five minutes of the second half, going up 58-42, shooting nearly 63% from the floor.
The Cougars went on a quick 9-0 run getting the game back within 11 points, 66-55, before Jarius Hicklen drilled a Hugh corner three, his second of the game, to end the drought and BYU’s run.
After a huge three from Hall on the other end, extending the Cougars’ run up to 12-3, Javon Small hit a circus shot off the glass to keep the Pokes squarely within the momentum in the midst of the BYU run.
After an OSU turnover with just under seven minutes, the Cowboys forced a fifth turnover on Dallin Hall, leading to a BYU foul on John-Michael Wright on the other end, the sixth team foul of the half. However, it didn’t lead to any points for the Pokes, yet a three on the other end, making it a 10-point game, 73-63.
Yet, like they had done most of the day, the Pokes had an answer back down the court as Brandon Garrison completed a three-point play, giving him 15 points.
Keller’s incredibly afternoon continued following a bucket from Traore, which cut the Pokes’ lead down to single digits. With just under five minutes left, Keller drove the paint and made a tough contested layup, while also drawing the foul and converting the and-one.
The Cougars attempted a run down the stretch, with a put-back bucket off a missed and a quick turnover on the end bounds to make it an 84-75 game. However, they put the Pokes in the double-bonus with three minutes left and fouled on the ensuing inbounds. Wright missed the front end of the two and drilled the second, putting them back up by 10.
The Cougars called their final timeout after a three, making it 87-78, with 1:14 left in the game. It was Garrison with a huge slam on the other end following a baseball pass, putting it back up to double digits.
Pokes Report
2004 Final Four players back included Ivan McFarlin (middle in white) and Daniel Bobick (second from right).
“Our fans were good,” Boynton said. “We had the reunion of former players and honored the 2004 Final Four team, which I think is the last team to have played BYU. I felt there was an energy in the building that helped us as well.”
The Final Four players and other basketball alumni had dinner with the team on Friday night. They were complimentary as for the effort and the production those current players came with to make the Reunion game a winning one.
The Cowboys will travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday, February 21 for a 6 p.m. CT tip on ESPN+.
