Oklahoma State basketball vs. Oral Roberts: 3 takeaways as Cowboys roll past Golden Eagles
STILLWATER – There was no shortage of scoring in Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday afternoon.
Oklahoma State scored 14 3-point baskets and shot 46.7% from deep in a 81-60 win over Oral Roberts. With the win, the Cowboys match a season-best two-game win streak.
“I guess the big point is (that) our team is getting better,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said postgame “We just have a lot of things that we need to work on and room to grow. But I’m really pleased with the progress that I’m seeing not just individually, but collectively as well.”
Here are three takeaways from the game:
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OSU’s offense highlights dominant win
OSU’s 13 3-pointers marked the second-highest total logged by the Cowboys (5-5) this season. Three OSU players – Bryce Thompson (13), Quion Williams (13) and Eric Dailey Jr. (12) – posted double-digit scoring. Freshman center Brandon Garrison fell just two points short (8).
Boynton’s hypothesis? Fluent ball movement.
“I think the ball moved really well,” he said. “I thought the ball just found the open guy more often than not today. And our guys were definitely locked in and ready to shoot.”
The 6:01 point in the first half marked the final time the Golden Eagles (4-6) would trail by single digits, a large portion of which coach Mike Boynton credited to his team’s offensive fluency.
Shortly thereafter, OSU went on a 17-2 run to end the half, and followed with a 12-2 run midway through the second half, something the group did rather infrequently in the earlier stages of nonconference play.
Throughout the week, playing “a full 40 minutes” was heavily emphasized, given a number of OSU’s close losses. Multiple OSU players said they believe Sunday’s win was the first time such a feat had been achieved. The hope being to continue that heading into conference play.
“Just communicating,” Williams said. “That’s all that was.
“When we get tired, it can get hard to talk (with each other). So, we just kept communication throughout the whole game, and that’s what we did.”
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Cowboys show improvement in ball security
In its 72-57 win over Tulsa last Sunday, OSU posted 28 turnovers, marking the most recorded in a single game during Boynton’s tenure. It was also the most since OSU’s loss to OU since a 1988 Bedlam loss to Oklahoma.
But this Sunday was a different story. OSU minimized its self-inflicted wounds, committing just three turnovers in the first half and 11 total on the day.
“(Taking care of the ball) was a big emphasis coming into the game,” said shooting guard Jarius Hicklen. “But shooting the ball is just as important. And (we did that today). So, not turning it over is great.”
And as Boynton noted, clean play opens offensive fluency, as shown Sunday afternoon.
“We didn’t turn it over (much), which was great,” he said. “So, we had more opportunities (offensively).”
OSU stalls a potent ORU offense
Heading into Sunday’s game, ORU averaged 76.4 points per game.
OSU continued its defensive success from last week’s win over the Golden Hurricane, limiting the Golden Eagles to a season-low point total. Issac McBride and Jailen Bedford – ORU’s two leading scorers –were both held below their season scoring average.
Stalling such a potent ORU offense makes the Cowboys’ defensive improvement quite apparent. OSU forced its opponent to 13 turnovers – nine of which came in the first half of play – and limited ORU to just six 3-point makes.
“(Today) felt good. We were able to get out and get some early stops” Thompson said. “We were able to stop some of their best players. They hit a couple of tough shots, but we executed our gameplan at a high level.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball beats Oral Roberts, moves to .500 on season
