STILLWATER – It took much longer than Steve Lutz wanted but Oklahoma State finally pulled away from Kansas City for a 91-79 win over the Roos.
With the win, the Cowboys moved to 10-1 overall on the season.
The Cowboys shot 58% from the floor, 36% from 3-point range and 74% from the free throw line.
They outrebounded the Roos 41-29, outscored them in the paint 56-28 and went 29-15 in bench points. Despite leading in nearly every statistical category, the Cowboys allowed the Roos to hang around.
Christian Coleman led the way for the Pokes with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor with a team-high 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Anthony Roy finished with 18 points, Jaylen Curry and Vyctorius Miller each with 13 and Andrija Vukovic with 11.
Freshman Ben Ahmed played the first minutes of his college career as he had six points and seven impressive rebounds in just seven minutes of action.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, before allowing KC to make it a two-point game, 19-17, with 10:36 left in the first half. The Roos would keep it close the remainder of the first half, entering the break trailing by just four, 48-44, thanks to a three-ball by Roy.
The second half was much more stressful as the Roos took a one-point lead, 60-59, following an 11-point run with 12 minutes left to play.
That’s when the Cowboys finally turned up the pressure and started playing to win.
Vukovic with a rebound on a missed layup by Palm and hit a hook shot on the other end to put the Pokes up by five, 70-65. On the other end, Miller recorded a huge block and was hit by Roy for a fastbreak dunk to put the Pokes up by seven, 72-65. He was called for a technical foul as he stepped towards the defender and the Branch hit just one of the two free throws on the other end. Curry recorded a steal on the ensuing possession and was fouled hard, resulting in Clark being ejected. Curry made both free throws and Vukovic hit a layup as the Pokes got the ball back.
After it was all said and done, the Cowboys went on a 14-1 run in just over a minute to take a 12-point lead over the Roos, 78-66, with just under five minutes to play.
The Cowboys committed back-to-back fouls, putting the Roos at the line to make four free throws and an eight-point game, 78-70.
Roy recorded a defensive rebound, leading to an and-one on the other end to the Pokes up by 13, 83-70, with just over three minutes left in the game.
The Roos didn’t give up as they kept it close to single digits the remainder of the game.
