Oklahoma State basketball vs. Creighton: Cowboys' unable to slow Bluejays' offense in loss

STILLWATER — Through much of the first half, OSU hung with its toughest opponent of the season.

Then, remnants of last season’s scoring slumps reappeared.

No. 15 Creighton closed out the first half on a 19-2 run in the final 6:08 of the first half and handed the Cowboys a 79-65 loss Thursday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU didn’t make a field goal during that Bluejay run.

“They fought, and I think outside of probably a six-minute or so stretch in the first half is where it got away from us,” said OSU coach Mike Boynton. “And it's hard to come back against a team that doesn't turn it over a lot, probably not going to miss very many free throws and have multiple ball handlers out there.

“Hats off to them. Certainly disappointed in the outcome. I'm proud of the effort. We’ve just got to get better.”

OSU (3-4) outscored Creighton in the second half, with Javon Small scoring 24 points, and Eric Dailey Jr. picking up a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double – the first of his OSU career. That still wasn’t enough to overcome the 18-point halftime deficit.

“The intensity, the physicality, the ability for the other team to have multiple players out there who can hurt you – you can't get down 18,” Boynton said. “You're asking for agony at that point. You can chip away only so much in 20 minutes. You've got to be able to find a way to get that six-minute stretch out of the game.”

Here are three takeaways from the Cowboys’ loss:

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Creighton offense proves to be too much

The Bluejays (6-1) are known to put up points. They came into Stillwater averaging 84 a game, including three outings of more than 90.

Creighton didn’t hit 90, but it did plenty on offense.

Four of CU’s five starters scored at least 16 points, led by Baylor Scheierman’s 21 and Trey Alexander’s 20. The Bluejays scored 47 points in the first half.

“I felt like it was a little difficult, but I felt like the shots that they were making, I feel like some of them were contested, some of them were breakdowns but I mean they were just hitting shots,” Small said. “That's a great 3-point shooting team, and that's what they came here and did today.”

Creighton lives and dies by the 3-point shot, taking more than 12 a game on average. That failed CU against Colorado State in its last game, where it picked up its first loss of the season. But the 3s were back on Thursday, and that’s difficult to overcome.

CU guard Steven Ashworth made four, and Scheierman accounted for three more, as Creighton made 10 of 19 shots from deep (52.6%).

“They played to their strengths and came out with a win,” Dailey said.

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Bryce Thomspon rusty in return, needs time to mesh with Small

Bryce Thompson missed the past three games with a leg injury sustained during the Cowboys’ tournament in Brooklyn, but he returned Thursday night and got the start.

There was a little rust.

Thompson played 13 minutes in the opening half before foul trouble put him on the bench. He picked up his first foul 27 seconds into the game and added another in the final three minutes of the half. After halftime, Thompson picked up two more in the first 3:25.

For the next 11:01, Thompson was out of the game with four fouls, which didn’t help find him any rhythm. Until the final three minutes of the game, he had two points and shot 1 for 6 from the field.

Inside three minutes, Thompson sparked for five points and cut the Bluejay lead to 12, but it wasn’t enough.

Small picked up some slack at guard and posted his 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Small missed the season opener, and with Thompson’s recent absence, the two guards haven’t had much time to play together. Boynton said that time together on the floor needs to happen for them to create more cohesion.

“Basketball as much as anything, it’s a rhythm game, so Javon needs to be out there with Bryce a couple of games to figure out, ‘Alright, what is Bryce like to catch the ball when he comes over the screen?’” Boynton said. “Bryce needs to do the same thing.”

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Trey Alexander shines in return to home state

Trey Alexander has been posting big numbers all season, but this time he got to do it a little closer to home.

An Oklahoma City native, Alexander attended Heritage Hall High School and was a four-star recruit who the Cowboys and Sooners each recruited. Alexander was named Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year and the state’s top recruit in 2021, and he is the all-time leading scorer at Heritage Hall, too.

Alexander, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, hasn’t been short on scoring at Creighton, either. He averaged 13.6 points as a sophomore and led the BIG EAST with a 43.8% 3-point shooting percentage. This season, he has already scored 20+ points in four games.

In his return to Oklahoma, Alexander added a fifth, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds and three assists.

“Obviously he got to his shot and had a great game,” Boynton said. “Congratulations to him.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball vs. Creighton: Cowboys' defense not enough