Cowboys continue surge by stopping hot Huskers 77-63
STILLWATER, Okla. Byron Eaton and his teammates don't have to hide anymore. Oklahoma State is back to respectability.
Eaton scored 20 points and the Cowboys continued their surge from the bottom of the Big 12 standings with a 77-63 victory against Nebraska on Saturday.
It was the fifth straight win for Oklahoma State since a 21-point loss at Kansas State last month that had Cowboys players dreading going out in public in their team sweat suits. Now, Eaton said players are being greeted by fellow students who want to sit down and eat lunch with them.
"It feels a lot better when you're at the middle of the pack, or toward the top, than it is at the bottom," Eaton said.
Eaton had a pair of 3-pointers from the right wing as Oklahoma State extended its lead with a 13-3 run early in the second half. He stepped back before banking in the first, and his second 3-pointer pushed the Cowboys' lead to 48-34 with 11:54 to play.
After the teams traded baskets, Eaton ripped the ball away from Ade Dagunduro on the fast break and made it downcourt in time to field a loose ball under the basket and convert a layup.
Obi Muonelo then responded to a two-handed jam by Nebraska center Aleks Maric with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Eaton's two free throws with 5:55 remaining stretched the Cowboys' advantage to 60-41. That finished off a 10-for-13 start from the field by Oklahoma State (16-12, 7-7 Big 12 Conference) in the second half, and the lead was never in jeopardy after that.
Steve Harley trimmed Nebraska's deficit to 67-56 with a 3-pointer from the left side with 1:39 to play, but that's as close as it got.
"I think these guys are starting to see that when we play like we're capable, we can play with a lot of good teams," Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton said. "These guys have been fun to coach and fun to watch the way that they've improved over the course of the season."
Marcus Dove added 17 points and Muonelo scored 12 for the Cowboys, who got off to a 1-6 start in Big 12 play before surging back to .500.
Maric had 17 points and 12 rebounds to tie the career record for double-doubles in Big 12 play set by Nebraska's Venson Hamilton between 1997 and 1999. Maric, who has nine double-doubles in his last 10 games, now has 24 against Big 12 opponents in his career. While eight former Big 12 players have more overall double-doubles, no one has more in conference games.
Harley also scored 17 and Dagunduro added 12 points for Nebraska (17-10, 6-8), which missed its own chance to reach .500 after an 0-4 start in Big 12 play. The Cornhuskers committed 19 turnovers while playing their second straight game without injured point guard Cookie Miller (shoulder) and had their three-game winning streak snapped.
"They did a nice job of understanding getting into the basketball and creating us some issues, and they did just that," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said.
The win moved Oklahoma State, which had been tied for last place earlier in the season, into a tie for fifth place in the Big 12 standings.
The ascent started after Sutton told his players that he thought Oklahoma State which was 2-7 in league play at the time could win its next seven games.
"I'm not sure anybody else believed it other than the guys in that locker room and the coaching staff," Sutton said. "I just felt like we were so close through all those losses that if we just continued to work on the practice court and correct some of the mistakes that we were making that we would start winning some of these games."
Sutton said players bought in and then got reassurances over and over again first by building a 20-point lead in the first half against Baylor, then by ending a 19-game road losing streak at Texas A&M and finally with an upset of then-No. 4 Kansas last weekend.
"I think everybody is just on the same page and everybody still believes," Dove said. "Even when we were 2-7, we never got down, we never stopped playing hard, we never wanted to give up. We knew we still had a chance."
OKLAHOMA ST. 77, NEBRASKA 63
NEBRASKA (17-10)
Maric 8-11 1-2 17, Henry 1-4 2-3 4, Harley 6-12 2-2 17, Dagunduro 5-8 2-5 12, Anderson 3-6 0-0 6, Strowbridge 0-5 1-2 1, Velander 0-3 0-0 0, Balham 3-3 0-0 6, Salomon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 8-14 63.
OKLAHOMA ST. (16-12)
Dove 5-7 5-5 17, Anderson 2-6 3-3 8, Thomas 2-6 4-6 8, Eaton 6-7 6-10 20, Muonelo 3-6 4-5 12, Harris 2-8 0-0 5, Hatch 1-1 0-0 3, Adams 1-1 2-4 4, Sidorakis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-42 24-33 77.
HalftimeOklahoma St. 31-27. 3-Point GoalsNebraska 3-12 (Harley 3-4, Henry 0-1, Anderson 0-2, Strowbridge 0-2, Velander 0-3), Oklahoma St. 9-19 (Eaton 2-2, Dove 2-3, Muonelo 2-3, Hatch 1-1, Anderson 1-4, Harris 1-4, Thomas 0-2). Fouled OutEaton. ReboundsNebraska 31 (Maric 12), Oklahoma St. 24 (Muonelo 5). AssistsNebraska 11 (Dagunduro 3), Oklahoma St. 11 (Eaton 4). Total FoulsNebraska 26, Oklahoma St. 15. TechnicalsDagunduro, Eaton. A13,439.
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