Oklahoma State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Falls to Oklahoma, 72-65
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Basketball
February 7, 1999
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Eduardo Najera came out of a four-game slump by scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds Saturday night, leading Oklahoma to a 72-65 victory over Oklahoma State.
The Sooners (16-7, 7-3 Big 12) swept the regular-season series from Oklahoma State for the first time since 1990. They had beaten the Cowboys 54-43 in Stillwater on Jan. 12.
Oklahoma State (16-6, 7-3) fell behind 25-8 in the first 12 minutes and never recovered. The Cowboys made a run in each half, but got no closer than five, that in the final seconds.
Eric Martin scored 17, Ryan Humphrey 13 and Michael Johnson 12 for Oklahoma before a record crowd of 12,909.
Adrian Peterson had 22 and Joe Adkins scored 16 for Oklahoma State. All of Adkins' points came in the final 8:18. Desmond Mason, the league's second-leading scorer with a 17.2 average, had just four on 1-of-9 shooting.
Two of Najera's biggest baskets came in the late going. After Oklahoma State used a 16-5 run to get within 52-46, Najera made a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding. Two minutes later, after the Cowboys again drew within six, Najera made a 3 from the same spot to give the Sooners a 60-51 lead with 4:33 remaining.
Martin added a momentum-changing 3-pointer of his own with 2:14 to play, making the score 67-58.
Najera, who had averaged just 8.5 points in the previous four games, played with abandon from the start. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds at halftime and was particularly strong early - he had six offensive boards in the first seven minutes.
The Sooners only started out 8-of-21 from the field, but scored on eight of their first 11 possessions because they dominated the backboards.
At the other end of the floor, the Sooners relied on zone defenses most of the time and the Cowboys weren't able to make them pay. Oklahoma State had just four field goals after 13 minutes.
A 12-2 run by the Cowboys allowed them to cut the deficit to 27-20 and they trailed by nine at halftime.
