Oklahoma State Rolls Past St. Thomas to Remain Unbeaten
Oklahoma State remained undefeated with another impressive showing.
OSU beat St. Thomas 80-71 on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. In the second game of the Steve Lutz era, OSU hustled its way to a lead and used that effort to pull away in the second half. Marchelus Avery led the way for the Cowboys, scoring 23.
Leading by 10 to start the second half, OSU looked to build on its lead. While the Cowboys were able to open the half well and add onto its advantage, it couldn’t fully put St. Thomas away.
Although St. Thomas got its deficit back within single digits, it couldn’t get close enough to put the game in doubt.
Midway through the half, a few big plays from transfer Pat Suemnick helped the Cowboys start a run.
After the Cowboys trailed 6-2 in the opening minutes, they went on a run to try and seize control early. Their 17-2 run led by stifling defense and easy buckets was an example of how Lutz wants to see his team play.
However, the Cowboys couldn’t keep that level of play in the following minutes as they allowed St. Thomas to chip away at its deficit, with an 8-0 run prompting an OSU timeout. After allowing St. Thomas to get within one point, OSU went on a 9-0 run to take its lead back into double digits.
The Cowboys finished the first half with a 33-23 lead, holding St. Thomas to 8-of-29 from the field.
After blowing out Green Bay behind a strong second half to start the season, OSU showed its ability to take care of business again on Sunday. While the Cowboys’ 20-game conference slate will determine if this season is successful, a couple of nonconference wins to start the year leaves room for optimism.
OSU will look to continue its hot start to the season when it hosts Southern Illinois on Thursday.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.