The Oklahoma State Cowboys coming off tough loss to the TCU Horned Frogs squared up against another Big 12 opponent last night in the Iowa State Cyclones. The 22nd ranked Cowboys entered the arena at 17-8 (7-6) and the 14th ranked Cyclones came in with an impressive 18-6 (8-4) record.
We have seen some classics when these two programs get together. The triple overtime win by Iowa State last year in Stillwater, the gaming winning 3 earlier that year in Ames, and the overtime win in Stillwater the year before. Iowa State seemed to have Oklahoma State’s number lately but the Pokes took the floor planning to correct that.
Gallagher-Iba Arena was rocking for a Wednesday night game as the Cowboys tried to put another notch on their NCAA tournament belt. The student section could be heard long into the second half and the Pokes pride was high. The game tipped off and was a festival to watch from start to finish.
The offenses facing off in two opposing styles. Iowa State crashed the offensive glass and forced the ball inside early, highlighted by Jameel McKay and his 9 offensive rebounds. The Pokes however came out stroking from deep with a hot 6-10 start from the 3 point line. In some possessions though you could still see the Cowboys struggling to find shots and create offense but did manage to hold Iowa State to just 32% shooting in the first half.
Anthony Hickey really played well and led the Cowboys in the first half 12 points. The game would remain tight all the way through the 2nd half and was a back and forth affair. Oklahoma State showed strong team defense especially on the perimeter only allowing the Cylones to shoot 6-20 from the outside.
The Cyclones leading scorer was their starting front court in McKay with 17 (also led the team in rebounds with 14) and Dustin Houge who took in 14 points and was a force for Oklahoma State to handle all night. Iowa State spent most of the night playing inside the Cowboys paint and wore out the Pokes front court. The rebounding difference was a staggering plus 16 in favor of the glass eating cyclones.
The common faces led the Pokes in scoring in Le’Bryan Nash and Phil Forte. Both struggled most of the night finishing a combined 7-24 from the field. 3 point shooting and defensive pressure really is what kept Oklahoma State in this game. Down the stretch Le’Bryan Nash seemed to be finding his groove andat one point the Cowboys led the game 61-60 with 3 minutes left. Forte struggled to find room to breathe all night as Iowa State played pressure defense which even led to a few blocked 3’s by the Cyclones.
The end came down to what we have been accustom to seeing in the Oklahoma State offense, struggling to find shots. However down 3 on what would be the last possession for the Cowboys Coach Travis Ford drew up a play and created what would be an open 3 for Jeff Newberry off the Forte drive and unfortunately for Stillwater he back rimmed it.
The Cowboys will have to settle for another tough loss this week and especially to a team that is slowly becoming a rival. The Pokes do however have a chance to bounce back Saturday in Stillwater against Big 12 opponent West Virginia at 1:00 pm.
cool!
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