Cowboys throttle Cougars
STILLWATER, Okla. – Dick Bennett shook his head. He folded his arms. He called timeouts and consulted with his Washington State University men’s basketball team. There just wasn’t anything he could do to get the ball to go into the basket.
The Cougars (3-2) went more than 9 minutes before scoring their first basket and had four more stretches of at least 4 minutes without a field goal in an 81-29 non-conference loss Saturday to No. 6 Oklahoma State.
John Lucas III and Joey Graham combined to outscore the Cougars, who had one of the worst offensive outings since the 3-point line started in 1986-87. Georgia Southern holds the record for fewest points, getting 21 in a 40-point loss to Coastal Carolina on Jan. 2, 1997.
“I have not run into, in my 40 years, that kind of defensive intensity for as long as they played it,” Bennett said. “It was most impressive.”
The Cougars missed their first six shots – including five from 3-point range – and didn’t get much better from there. Oklahoma State (5-0) built a 29-2 lead in the first half and was up 36-10 at halftime. WSU finished 12 for 55 from the field and 4 for 24 from 3-point range.
“I think once it got to the embarrassment stage, we really lost our spirit,” Bennett said. “I thought that happened, and I understand that. It would be pretty hard to maintain any kind of backbone in the face of that pressure and this crowd. And we did, I thought, soften.”
The Cougars are familiar with offensive futility. Last December, Fresno State beat the Cougars 46-29 after leading 27-9 at the half. By nature, the Cougars are a low-scoring team. They averaged 52.5 points in their first four games. Bennett said it didn’t help that the Cougars were playing without a point guard, but he refused to say it was just a bad day for his team.
“I think it was their defense,” he said. “We have very slow shooters. We’ve seen that. … If you let them shoot any kind of rhythm shot, you might make some. But when you rush them, they really have trouble.”
Oklahoma State was relentless, keeping in the Cougars’ faces as the crowd of 12,019 chanted for defense late into the second half. The 29 points allowed by Oklahoma State was the fewest since a 55-29 win against New Mexico State on Dec. 3, 1952.
Lucas had 19 points and Graham added 18. Frans Steyn had a career-high 15 points for Oklahoma State. Thomas Kelati led Washington State with eight points.
Oklahoma St. 81, Washington St. 29
Washington State (3-2) – Schlatter 1-7 1-2 3, Gill 1-4 0-0 2, Kelati 3-11 0-0 8, Green 0-3 0-0 0, Varem 2-7 0-0 4, Akognon 2-7 0-2 6, Weaver 0-5 0-0 0, Simmons 1-3 0-0 2, Harmeling 0-6 0-0 0, Cowgill 2-2 0-1 4. Totals 12-55 1-5 29.
Oklahoma State (5-0) – J.Graham 8-10 1-1 18, McFarlin 4-7 0-0 8, Crawford 0-0 3-4 3, Lucas 6-11 3-4 19, Bobik 1-1 1-1 3, Steyn 5-7 5-6 15, Dove 0-0 1-2 1, S.Graham 1-3 2-2 4, Curry 2-4 0-0 4, Monds 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Pettway 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 30-47 16-21 81.
Halftime–Oklahoma State 36, Washington State 10. 3-point goals–Washington State 4-24 (Akognon 2-5, Kelati 2-6, Simmons 0-1, Harmeling 0-1, Green 0-2, Varem 0-2, Weaver 0-3, Schlatter 0-4), Oklahoma State 5-8 (Lucas 4-5, J.Graham 1-1, Curry 0-1, Pettway 0-1). Fouled out–Cowgill. Rebounds–Washington State 22 (Kelati 5), Oklahoma State 44 (McFarlin 8). Assists–Washington State 6 (Kelati, Green 2), Oklahoma State 18 (Lucas 5). Total fouls–Washington State 20, Oklahoma State 11. A–12,019.