OSU Basketball Takes Down SC State in New Year's Eve Battle
The Oklahoma State basketball program hosted SC State on Sunday as they played their last game before the calendar year rolled over. Preparing for Big 12 play, these games have been huge for Oklahoma State, and their 86-70 win over SC State should be a good confidence booster for the Cowboys.
It wasn't a good start for the Cowboys, though, as they led 38-34 at halftime. Given the talent discrepancy and the form of both teams, this was unacceptable for the Cowboys and was all self-inflicted.
At the half, the Cowboys were shooting 7-of-15 from beyond the arc, so not holding a big lead was due to struggles on the defensive end and turning the ball over. They had nine total turnovers at the break.
As the second half got underway, though, Oklahoma State began to turn things around. Playing stout defense and getting on the break helped the Cowboys beat the SC State defense and start building momentum.
The three-ball kept falling and the Cowboys were getting on the break more and more to start building a lead. At the under-12 media timeout, the Cowboys led 57-45.
This trend continued for Oklahoma State as they led by more than 20 points by the time the under-4 media timeout was called. A collection of double-figure scorers and collective play on both sides of the ball was too much for SC State to handle.
Quinn Williams shined with his explosiveness as he scored 16 points, grabbed ten boards and stole the ball three times. He recorded four offensive rebounds and continually cleaned things up to provide a constant boost for the Cowboys.
Bryce Thompson led Oklahoma State in scoring with 17 points while knocking down four of his nine 3-pointers attempted. Javon Small added 12 points and five assists.
Freshman big man Brandon Garrison also recorded a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds while blocking three shots.
With the win, the Cowboys advanced to 7-5 on the season with four straight wins.
The Cowboys have one last battle in non-conference play before Big 12 basketball begins for them, and playing Baylor to kick off conference play will be no easy task. Oklahoma State hosts Chicago State on Jan. 3.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022