Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Colorado
Oklahoma State Beats Buffaloes, 64-55
January 26, 2002 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan 26, 2002
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma State managed to close out a tough week with another tough victory.
The 11th-ranked Cowboys, who beat Nebraska by just seven points Wednesday night, overcame a poor first half Saturday to beat Colorado 64-55 on a day when many were thinking of 10 people killed in a plane crash last year.
"I think the game today was very, very important that we win it," coach Eddie Sutton said. "I'm not sure that in the first half that some of our guys weren't a little tight, because they realized the importance of winning this ballgame."
Two players, the two pilots and six members of the team's traveling party were killed Jan. 27, 2001, on a return trip from Colorado. They were honored with a moment of silence at halftime.
Sutton said he didn't mention the anniversary before the game, but some of the players did.
"They were very much aware of it," he said. "With all the media coverage we've had this week and all the articles that have been written, there's no way that you're not aware of tomorrow being the one-year anniversary."
Maurice Baker and Oklahoma State (17-3, 4-3 Big 12) played much better in the second half. Baker was 0-of-3 from the field and scored just one point in the first half, but he scored eight straight early in the second to trigger a 14-4 run that turned a 32-27 halftime deficit into a 41-36 lead.
"I was feeling good and that just opened the game up right there," said Baker, who hit consecutive jumpers during the run and finished with 16 points. "That built my confidence up and my team's confidence."
Colorado (11-6, 2-4) ended a streak of 6:15 without a basket when Nick Mohr hit a jumper to make it 41-38. Then the Cowboys put together a 10-3 run for a 51-41 lead and Colorado got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Buffaloes had a 25-17 rebounding edge in the first half, but were outrebounded 26-17 after that. They also wound up shooting just 33 percent from the field.
"I thought we came out and played with a great deal of intensity and we played very well defensively, probably the best defense we have played all season," coach Ricardo Patton said. "But it is difficult to win, especially on the road, when you shoot 33 percent."
Fredrik Jonzen had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Ivan McFarlin scored 12 points for the Cowboys, who only shot 39 percent themselves.
David Harrison had 13 points for Colorado and Stephane Pelle has his fourth straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Buffaloes scored 10 second-chance points and maintained their lead in the first half despite having Harrison for just 10 minutes. He scored six points and gave the Cowboys trouble inside before sitting with his second foul.
The Cowboys put together a few solid spurts on offense to build a lead, then kept it with their defense. Sutton said he was most pleased with his team's defense during the week, since a week earlier they had lost by 18 and 24 points.
On Sunday, coaches and players will meet for what Sutton hopes will be an upbeat remembrance of those killed a year ago.
"That's what I told them," he said. "I said, 'Boy, there were so many wonderful times we had with those guys. That's what you have to remember.'
"We're never going to forget them, but they're not going to come back, and the only thing we can do is try to live better lives and remember all the good times we had with them."
