Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Basketball Hosts Yale In Season Opener
November 21, 2002 | Cowboy Basketball
Nov. 21, 2002
Oklahoma State Cowboys
(0-0 overall) host the Yale Bulldogs (0-0) in
the season opener for both schools
Friday, Nov. 22, 2002 * 7 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] * Stillwater, Okla.
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Oklahoma State opens the 2002-03 regular season this Friday as the Cowboys host the Yale Bulldogs of the Ivy League. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Oklahoma State finished the exhibition portion of its season with a 2-0 record, coming off a 78-56 victory over Branch West Basketball Academy Monday night. Yale did not play any exhibition games during the preseason.
Last Time Out For OSU
The duo of Melvin Sanders and Ivan McFarlin each recorded double-doubles for Oklahoma State, and the Cowboys defeated Branch West Basketball Academy, 78-56, Monday night in exhibition action. McFarlin had 14 points and 17 rebounds while Sanders had 14 and 11, respectively. Victor Williams led all scorers with 19 points, including 15 in the last five minutes of the first half. Oklahoma State shot 52.8 percent in the first half and 46.5 percent for the game, while limiting Branch West to 33.3 percent for the game, including 8-of-27 in the second stanza. Jason Miller added eight points off the bench for the second-consecutive game. Former Cowboy Doug Gottlieb played for Branch West, which was coached by his father, Bob, a former Sutton assistant at Creighton. Doug Gottlieb finished with eight assists. Durelle Brown and Nate Poindexter had 15 points each, leading the Branch West squad.
About Yale
Friday night's game will be the first game of the season for Yale. The Bulldogs did not play in any exhibition games, only a scrimmage with Vermont during the preseason. The Bulldogs finished 21-11 last season, and lost to Tennessee Tech, 80-61, in the second round of the NIT. Yale returns all five starters and its top-11 scorers from a year ago. The Bulldogs are led by a pair of sophomores, Edwin Draughan, who averaged 11.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a freshman, and Alex Gamboa, who averaged 10.7 points and 3.2 assists per contest. In all, Yale had four players average in double-figure scoring. The Bulldogs are coached by James Jones who, in his fourth season at the helm of the Yale program, has an overall record of 38-48. Other Bulldogs to look for are Paul Vitelli, who averaged 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game a year ago, and T.J. McHugh, who averaged 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest as a junior last season.
Up Next: The Great Alaska Shootout
Oklahoma State will travel to Anchorage, Alaska, next week to compete in the Carrs-Safeway/Great Alaska Shootout. It is the 25th anniversary of the event, and will be OSU's second appearance. The Cowboys went 1-2 in the 1994 event, opening the season of what would eventually be a Final Four run. This will be Coach Sutton's fifth trip to Alaska for the Great Alaska Shootout. He took two Arkansas teams and one Kentucky team as well as the 1994-95 squad at OSU.
Non-Conference Record in Gallagher-Iba
Oklahoma State enters the 2002-03 season having won 100 of its last 101 non-conference games held in Gallagher-Iba Arena since Jan. 7, 1987. The only loss during that span was an 83-81 loss to Florida Atlantic on Dec. 1, 1998, when the Cowboys were ranked 11th in the nation. That loss broke a string of 79-consecutive home non-league wins for OSU. Dating back to 1981, Oklahoma State is 129-7 (.949) in those types of games. The Cowboys have not allowed more than 66 points in their last 17 home non-conference contests. Here is a look at OSU's current 21-game home non-league winning streak:
Date Opponent Score D15, 1998 Houston Baptist 114-62 D30, 1998 Southeast Missouri State 75-64 J27, 1999 Southern Mississippi 65-64 N19, 1999 Appalachian State 87-75 N20, 1999 Idaho 81-50 N27, 1999 North Texas 103-65 D1, 1999 Wichita State 68-56 D4, 1999 Texas-San Antonio 87-66 D15, 1999 Alcorn State 79-53 J5, 2000 Langston 125-65 D19, 2000 Arkansas-Little Rock 70-60 D22, 2000 Lamar 86-45 J3, 2001 Texas-San Antonio 88-63 J20, 2001 St. Gregory's 74-58 N16, 2001 Cincinnati 69-62 N17, 2001 Austin Peay 81-58 N24, 2001 North Texas 77-58 N29, 2001 New Orleans 95-47 D1, 2001 Wichita State 61-59 D8, 2001 Jackson State 90-41 D17, 2001 Northwestern State 79-44
Brief OSU Basketball History
Oklahoma State enters its 94th season of basketball with an all-time record of 1,317 wins and 952 losses, a .580 winning percentage. The Cowboys have won two national championships (1945-46), appeared in five Final Fours, and made 19 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including 10 in the Sutton era. In fact, Coach Sutton has more wins (272) in his 12 years as the OSU head coach than the previous five coaches had (242) in a combined 20 seasons.
Sutton Approaches 1,000th Game
Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton has coached in 980 career Division I games, the fifth most by an active coach. He is just 20 games away from his 1,000th game, and will coach that game on Feb. 5, 2003, against the Kansas State Wildcats in Gallagher-Iba Arena. There are 16 coaches in NCAA history that have achieved that mark, including Sutton's mentor, Henry Iba, who coached in 1,105 games.
Four Seniors Return For Final Season
Four Cowboys enter the 2002-03 season as seniors. Andre Williams, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., is the lone four-year senior on the squad. Victor Williams, Kansas City, Kan., and Melvin Sanders, Liberal, Kan., are both entering their third year of play at Oklahoma State. Cheyne Gadson, a senior from Jamaica, N.Y., transferred to OSU last season for his junior year.
Transfers, Jucos Dot Cowboy Roster
Eight newcomers are listed on the Oklahoma State roster, including three transfers that will have to sit out the 2002-03 season. Tony Allen, a junior-college player from Wabash Valley Community College, and Janavor Weatherspoon, a juco transfer from Odessa College, should make an immediate impact. Freshmen Ross DeRogatis, Onye Ibekwe and Julian Richardson could also see playing time. Daniel Bobik and the twins, Joey and Stevie Graham, will have to sit out a year after transferring from BYU and Central Florida. All three, however are allowed to practice with the team. Other players that are not new to the program but will see their first action in a Cowboy uniform this season are Frans Steyn and Jason Miller. Steyn came to OSU a year ago and sat out as a true freshman. Miller, who transferred to Oklahoma State a year ago, had to sit out due to NCAA transfer guidelines.
Victor Williams Picks Up Where He Left Off
Senior guard Victor Williams, the Cowboys' leading scorer a year ago, seems to apparently want to continue as the primary scorer this season. Williams scored 13 points in OSU's first exhibition game vs. Global Sports, and led all scores in the game vs. Branch West Basketball Academy with 19 points. In two exhibition contests, Victor averaged 16 points per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor and an impressive 55.6 (5-of-9) percent from beyond the three-point arc. He also had five steals to lead the squad.
I-Mac Showcases His Rebounding Abilities
Junior forward Ivan McFarlin, considered one of the top rebounders in the league, showcased his rebounding abilities in Oklahoma State's two exhibition games. Against Global Sports, he grabbed a team-high nine boards. In the game versus Branch West Basketball Academy, I-Mac was even more effective, grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds.
Sanders Records Double-Double
Senior guard/forward Melvin Sanders, who has had two double-doubles in his career, recorded another one Monday night vs. Branch West Basketball Academy. The Liberal, Kan., native had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cowboys, and also had two assists in 30 minutes.
Gadson Leads OSU Over Global Sports
Senior guard Cheyne Gadson scored a game-high 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and also dished out six assists in the Cowboys exhibition opener over Global Sports. The Jamaica, N.Y., native averaged 12 points per game in the exhibition contests, connecting on 12-of-19 shots from the floor. He also had nine assists and just three turnovers.
Miller Providing Points off the Bench
Junior forward Jason Miller, a transfer from North Texas a year ago, has been productive for the Cowboys so far. The Livingston, Texas, native has scored eight points in each of the Cowboys' two exhibition games, and has connected on 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) of his shots from the floor. He also had nine rebounds in exhibition play, the fourth-most on the squad.
Allen Extremely Productive
Junior college transfer Tony Allen has been very productive in his first two games in a Cowboy uniform. In the two exhibition contests, Allen scored 20 points in 33 minutes of play. He was 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the floor.
Cowboys Shooting Well From The Field
Through two exhibition games, seven Cowboys are shooting 50 percent or better. As a team, OSU is shooting 52.7 percent from the floor, connecting on 69-of-131 shots. Cheyne Gadson is leading the offensive surge, shooting 63.2 percent on 19 attempts. Jason Miller shot 66.7 percent, connecting on 8-of-12 shots. Juco transfer Janavor Weatherspoon has made five of his seven attempts, or 71.4 percent.
Williams Ranks Among Elite Shot Blockers
Forward Andre Williams enters his senior season with 129 career blocked shots, which ranks fifth on the all-time school list. Williams is 39 blocks away from moving past Leroy Combs and into fourth place on the list. Byron Houston is the all-time Cowboy shot blocker with 223, just eight ahead of Joe Atkinson.
Sanders Has String of Starts
Cowboy senior Melvin Sanders has started every game of his Cowboy career, and is tied with former Cowboy Byron Houston for the sixth-most consecutive starts in school history. Sanders needs to continue his string just six games into the season to surpass Fredrik J?nz?n, who had a string of 67 straight when his career ended last season. Sanders has a chance to move into second place on the all-time list, but cannot reach Desmond Mason, who had 104 straight starts in his career, for the top spot.
