OSU Downs Mean Green, Falls To Gamecocks

12/3/14   No. Texas St. Mean Green @ OSU Cowboys

Phil Forte scored career-high 32 points, including 12 during a crucial 20-4 run late in the first half, to lead the Oklahoma State Cowboys to an 87-61 victory over North Texas on Wednesday night. Forte connected on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5 of 9 from three-point range, while also adding four rebounds.

Playing without star forward Le’Bryan Nash, who sat due to unspecified “disciplinary reasons,” Michael Cobbins chipped in with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Cowboys (7-0). Coach Travis Ford would not elaborate on the circumstances leading to Nash's disciplinary action. Jeremy Combs paced North Texas (4-3) with 15 points and five rebounds.

Armani Flannigan's layup put North Texas ahead 25-22 with 7:59 remaining in the opening half, but OSU then reeled off a 20-4 run to take control of the contest. Forte scored 12 points, including a clutch three-pointer from about 10 feet beyond the arc on the right side just before the shot clock expired, during that span to give the Cowboys a 42-29 lead with just 13.1 seconds left in the half. The Cowboys kept up the pressure in the second half, utilizing a 10-1 run to build their advantage to 67-43, after Forte hit another three-pointer from the left sideline with 9:44 to go. Oklahoma State freshman Mitchell Solomon started in place of Nash. In a season-high 24 minutes, Solomon contributed one point, six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots

12/6/14   OSU Cowboys @ So. Carolina Gamecocks

Duane Notice had 20 points, his fourth straight game in double digits, as the South Carolina Gamecocks ended Oklahoma State's perfect start with a 75-49 victory on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (5-3) used a 20-4 run midway through the second half to take control in the Big 12/SEC Challenge game. After Anthony Hickey's basket drew Oklahoma State (7-1) to 37-32, Demetrius Henry and Notice hit jumpers to start the surge. Johnson had 8 points in the decisive stretch, including a pair of three-point plays -- the last which put the Gamecocks up 57-36 with 11:56 remaining.

Oklahoma State came in as one of the Big 12's highest scoring and best shooting teams, averaging 79.4 points a game and making 48.8 percent of its shots to trail only Iowa State in that category. But the Cowboys were ice cold against South Carolina.

Phil Forte, coming off a career high 32 points in an 87-61 victory over North Texas, was just 1 of 8 from the field for OSU. His teammates fared almost as poorly, Oklahoma State making only eight of 31 shots the first 20 minutes -- and just four of 21 attempts inside the arc. Forte had just 5 points and made only one of his 14 shots.

Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford hadn't seen his team miss that many shots in a long time. Ford graciously credited South Carolina's pressure defense, but still struggled to find something good to take away from the Cowboys' first loss this season. "There aren't many positives out there for us," he said.

12/13/14   OSU Cowboys @ Memphis Tigers

Next up for the Cowboys are the Memphis Tigers. The squad gets the week off for finals, but return to the hardwood in the second game of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday. OSU heads to Memphis, TN this Saturday to take the Tigers by the tail at Fed Ex Arena in Memphis, with the tip-off slated for 5pm. You can catch all the action, starting with the Cowboys show with Dave Hunsiker at 4pm, on My107 and my1073fm.com.