Oklahoma State Fades In Second Half of 92-78 Loss to Arizona
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State had a good start to the game against Arizona, going into halftime trailing the Wildcats just four points, 43-39. The Cowboys kept it close to a five-point game three minutes into the second half, but Caleb Love started an 8-0 to pull away, a run the Cowboys weren’t able to bounce back from as they fall to the Wildcats, 92-78
It’s the most points the Cowboys have allowed this season, two more than Nevada’s 90 points back late November.
“Hats off to Arizona, that’s a really good basketball team, especially on the offensive end,” said head coach Steve Lutz. Caleb Love was fabulous tonight; there’s a reason he’s a preseason first team All-American. He’s a fifth year senior and he showed every bit of it tonight. That’s a team that has a chance to win this league and advance and win a national title. Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough defensively to take advantage of our opportunities tonight.”
With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 10-8 on the season and 2-5 in Big 12 play. They’ll face Texas Tech on the road in Lubbock, TX, on Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m.
Marchelus Avery led the way in scoring for the Pokes with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Bryce Thompson finished the game with 21 points on a late three, giving him 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Abou Ousmane and Brandon Newman also finished with double digits with Ousmane finishing with 14 points and Newman 12.
The Cowboys shot the ball just about as well as they have all season, going 46% from the floor and 43% from 3-point range. They were, however, outrebounded 34-29 and outscored 38-24 in the paint.
Despite shooting the ball well, the Cowboys gave up 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting to Caleb Love and 19 points to Trey Townsend on 7-of-8 shooting, most coming in the paint.
It was an even night for the Pokes in terms of scoring as they scored 39 points in each half. That’s been good enough for wins in all but two of the Big 12 games played by the Pokes so far, giving up more than 80 points to each BYU and Utah. But the Wildcats outscored the Pokes by 10 in the second frame, shooting a blistering 56% from the floor and winning the rebound battle, 18-13, and outscoring them 22-10 in the paint.