3 Takeaways From the Cowboys’ 80-65 Loss to the Sooners
The Oklahoma State Cowboys headed into Saturday night’s Bedlam showdown with the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners looking for an upset. The Sooners had been perfect on the season and the Cowboys were dealing with a pair of losses early.
It was tough sailing for the Pokes, and they struggled early on in the contest. When the dust settled on the first half, Oklahoma State was down 17 points. Oklahoma State was able to outscore the Sooners in the second half, but the damage had already been done.
Let’s take a look at three positive takeaways from the Cowboys’ 80-65 Bedlam loss to the Sooners.
Marchelus Avery shines off the bench
Oklahoma State senior Marchelus Avery has been a solid contributor this season for the Pokes. He has averaged just over 12 points per game and five rebounds this season. Against the Sooners on Saturday, Avery scored a team high of 19 points and hauled in six rebounds. He was 3-of-4 from long range and shot 60% from the field. With the Cowboys shooting just over 27% from long range, Avery’s 75% night from 3-point territory was a shining spot.
Arturo Dean remains consistent
Junior guard Arturo Dean started off slow this season, but over his last four games Dean has averaged 11 points per game off the bench. Saturday against the Sooners wasn’t any different. Dean scored 11 points and was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. He joined Avery as the only other Cowboy player in double figures.
Oklahoma State hits the boards
The Cowboys didn’t quite light up the stat column against the Sooners. They did manage to outrebound the Sooners on Saturday. The Pokes hauled in 39 total rebounds with 14 of those coming from the offensive glass. They held a +3-rebounding margin over the Sooners and a +4 margin on the offensive glass.
The Cowboys fall to 6-3 on the season and look to get back on track with their next two games coming against Tarleton State and Oral Roberts before the Christmas break.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.