Cowboys Fall To Iowa St And WVU

2/18/15   Iowa State Cyclones @ OSU Cowboys

Iowa State's Jameel McKay made just two field goals, yet he dominated Oklahoma State. The 6-foot-9 forward had career highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds to help the 14th-ranked Cyclones knock off the 22nd-ranked Cowboys 70-65 on Wednesday night. McKay created problems on both ends with his leaping ability. Though he made just 2 of 6 shots from the field, he made 13 of 18 free throws, blocked four shots and had nine offensive rebounds.

Overall, the Cyclones outrebounded the Cowboys 44-28 and had 18 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points. Dustin Hogue scored 14 points, Monte Morris had 11 points and Georges Niang scored all nine of his points in the second half for the Cyclones (19-6, 9-4 Big 12), who snapped a four-game road losing streak.

Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte each scored 13 points, but they combined to make just 7 of 24 shots for the Cowboys (17-9, 7-7), who lost their second straight after three consecutive wins over ranked teams.

Oklahoma State led 65-63 before Hogue drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:11 to play. After Nash turned over the ball, Niang's layup with 20.9 seconds left pushed Iowa State's lead to three. Jeff Newberry missed a 3-pointer, and McKay rebounded and was fouled with 6.5 seconds remaining. He made both free throws to put the game out of reach.

Iowa State led 25-18 before Oklahoma State rallied. Newberry's 3-pointer after a nifty ball fake got the run started. Anthony Hickey's 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 29-27, and Forte's free throws with 21.6 seconds left in the half tied the score at 33. The Cowboys got 10 points from Hickey and Newberry in the first half to make up for Nash and Forte combining to make just 2 of 12 shots. Hogue led Iowa State with eight points. Niang, scoreless in the first half, picked up his third foul 16 seconds into the second period. He stayed in the game and made a 3-pointer and scored on a post-up to help Iowa State take a 39-34 lead.

The Cowboys rallied and finally went ahead, 47-46, on a pair of free throws by Michael Cobbins. The game remained tight the rest of the way. The Cyclones defeated the Cowboys 63-61 in their previous meeting this season in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones had nine offensive rebounds in the first half and outrebounded the Cowboys 23-14 before the break. McKay's offensive rebound total matched the most by an Iowa State player since the 2003-04 season.

2/21/15   West Virginia Mountaineers @ OSU Cowboys

It was a defensive assignment that helped lead Gary Browne to his career-best offensive day. Deployed to cover Oklahoma State guard Phil Forte, Browne did an outstanding job limiting the Cowboys' second-leading scorer to 10 points and then contributed a career-high 18 points and added eight rebounds to lead No. 23 West Virginia to a 73-63 victory over No. 22 Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Juwan Staten led all scorers with 22 points and chipped in seven assists for West Virginia (21-6, 9-5 Big 12), which has won three of its last four, including a big win Monday over No. 8 Kansas. For Browne, who also came down with five offensive rebounds, it was the defensive coverage of Forte, who shot just 1-for-3 from the floor on the day, that fueled his offensive confidence.

Le'Bryan Nash scored 12 points and had four assists for Oklahoma State (17-10, 7-8), which lost its third straight game. After entering the second half tied at 25, West Virginia pulled away with a 13-2 run that established a 41-31 lead when Browne sank two free throws with 13:06 remaining. Much of that crucial run was fueled by offensive rebounds and Oklahoma State turnovers, two categories in which the Mountaineers lead the nation. West Virginia maintained at least an eight-point advantage the rest of the way.

It was the second straight contest in which Oklahoma State was dominated on the boards, losing the rebound battle 37-20, including 18-16 at its own rim.

After West Virginia scored the first basket of the game, Oklahoma State went on a 13-2 run to go up nine points over the first eight minutes. But West Virginia bounced back, forcing four OSU turnovers in a span of three minutes to spark a 9-0 burst of its own, tying the game at 13 on Staten's layup with 9:35 left in the opening half.

Neither team scored again for over three minutes, then Nash hit two free throws, making it was a close. But it remained defensive battle the rest of the first half, which ended in a 25-25 tie.

Watching the game from behind the Oklahoma State bench were members of OSU's 1964-65 team, a squad that won the Big Eight Conference championship, going 20-7 overall, 10-0 at home, and 12-2 in Big Eight competition. The group was honored at halftime, celebrating their 50th anniversary.

Next Up:  2/28/15   OSU Cowboys @ Texas Tech Red Raiders

After winning three in a row, the Cowboys (17-10, 7-8) have now dropped three straight. With a well needed mid-week bye, the Cowboys head to Lubbuck, TX on Saturday to try to rebound and get back on the winning track against the Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-16, 2-13 Big 12). Tip-off time is 6 pm, and you can catch all the action, starting with Dave Hunsiker and the Cowboys Pre-Game Show at 5 o’clock Tuesday night on My107 and my1073fm.com.