Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
New Orleans
Cowboys Corral New Orleans, 95-47
November 29, 2001 | Cowboy Basketball
Nov 29, 2001
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State put its depth on display against New Orleans.
The 14th-ranked Cowboys had nine players play at least 14 minutes and they got points from all but two players in a 95-47 victory Thursday night.
Maurice Baker led the way with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, and Ivan McFarlin had a career-best 19 points as the Cowboys (7-0) won by the sixth-widest margin in school history.
"I don't know if he's had a better team," New Orleans coach Monte Towe said of Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton. "This is an outstanding team, and they keep coming at you. He brings guys off the bench that come in there and they don't miss a beat."
Reserve Andre Williams had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Victor Williams, kicked out of the starting lineup because he missed a class, scored 11 as well. Antoine Broxie blocked three shots and Terrence Crawford had five rebounds in reserve roles.
"I thought probably overall it was the best game we've played," Sutton said. "We did a good job defensively by forcing turnovers. We controlled the defensive boards for the most part. When we're running like we were tonight, we can score points in transition."
New Orleans (3-4) shot just 29 percent from the field (18-of-62), committed 21 turnovers and were outrebounded 53-46.
The Privateers' chances were slim anyway, but took a hit when Hector Romero got into early foul trouble. Romero came in averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds, with double-doubles in all six games, but he picked up two fouls before the game was four minutes old.
He didn't return until the 9:30 mark of the first half, and by then Oklahoma State led 21-11. Romero finished with 10 points, on 4-of-13 shooting, and seven rebounds.
A 9-0 run in the opening minutes gave Oklahoma State an 11-4 lead and the Cowboys weren't threatened after that. The score was 16-11 when Crawford made a 3-pointer to begin an 11-2 spurt that widened the margin to 27-13. New Orleans was 1-of-9 with two turnovers during that 4 1/2 minute stretch.
The Privateers scored five straight points late in the first half to cut the deficit to 12, but the margin was 16 at halftime and Oklahoma State did nothing but build on it from there thanks to second-half runs of 10-2, 14-3 and 18-4.
"The first half we were up by 18, the second half we finished it," Andre Williams said. "We put together more of a complete game, but we've still got a lot to work on. Our defense let up at times and our offense wasn't as crisp as we wanted it."
The Cowboys shot 50 percent, came up with 14 steals and turned the ball over just 12 times. They had 25 assists, seven by Cheyne Gadson, compared with just six for New Orleans.
Towe said his young team was overwhelmed by the Cowboys and the setting. The Privateers start a freshman and two sophomores and have only one senior on the roster.
"We're all trying to figure out who we are," he said. "I was hoping we would play better and do a better job, but we didn't do it tonight."
Victor Brown led New Orleans with 11 points.
