Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys host Rangers before the holidays
December 22, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State (8-0)
vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State (5-3)
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 • 7 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowboys host Rangers in Gallagher-Iba Arena
Oklahoma State will play its final game prior to the holiday break as the Cowboys host theNorthwestern Oklahoma State Rangers on Tuesday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. OSU is 8-0 this season and coming off a 79-67 victory over UNLV in the Las Vegas Showdown Saturday night. NWOSU is 5-3 overall and coming off a 70-67 loss at Langston on Dec. 8. Oklahoma State is 2-1 all-time against Northwestern Oklahoma, with all three games being played prior to World War I.
Last game
Joey Graham scored 20 points while Ivan McFarlin and John Lucas each added 17, as the Cowboys defeated UNLV, 79-67, in the Las Vegas Showdown last weekend in Las Vegas. Graham and McFarlin combined to shoot 17-of-30 from the floor and each grabbed seven rebounds. After taking a 7-6 lead at the 16:23 mark, the Cowboys never trailed again. However, a 19 point lead was trimmed down to a mere eight over a span of approximately eight minutes late in the second half. Graham hit a jumper with 9:20 remaining to give the Pokes a 65-46 leads, their largest of the game. But, the Runnin’ Rebels went on a 14-7 run over the next six minutes, and cut the lead to eight on a pair of free throws by Romel Beck, two of his game-high 25 points. OSU hit 5-of-6 shots from the charity stripe over the final 1:16 to secure the win. Oklahoma State scored 46 points in the paint, compared to just 20 for the smaller Rebels. Stephen Graham added eight points in 18 minuts off the bench, while freshman JamesOn Curry had four assists, three points and two rebounds in just 15 minutes of play.
Cowboy continue hot shooting
Oklahoma State is shooting 52.3 percent as a team this season, and have shot better than 50 percent in five of the first eight games. The Cowboys’ 63.8 percent shooting vs. the Washington State Cougars was the highest by OSU since the Texas-Pan American game last season, when the Pokes connected on 64.3 percent of their shots. As of last week’s NCAA statistical rankings, OSU was fourth in the country in field goal shooting at 52.8 percent.
And from long range, too
The Cowboys are shooting well from beyond the three-point arc as well. In eight games, OSU has connected on 42-of-106 shots from long range, good for 39.6 percent. Ivan McFarlin has made his only attempt from beyond the arc, while Joey Graham has made 3-of-6 and Terrence Crawford 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point line. John Lucas has made 21-of-50, or 42 percent, while Daniel Bobik has connected on 11-of-26 from long range, good for 42.3 percent.
Charity stripe appealing to Cowboys
OSU has shot better than 70 percent from the free-throw line in six of the first eight games. That includes a perfect 14-of-14 against SMU. Oklahoma State is currently shooting 73.1 percent from the charity stripe. The Pokes have ended the season shooting better than 70 percent only five times in the last two decades, the last time in 1999-2000 when OSU shot 70.1 percent from the line.
McFarlin ranks among nation’s leaders
Ivan McFarlin, who gained a year of eligibility by graduating in 3-1/2 years, ranks among the nation’s leaders. With Ivan in the starting lineup, Oklahoma State has won 83 games in his four years in a Cowboy uniform. That win total ranks third among active players nationally. Kansas’ Aaron Miles sits atop that list with 93 wins, while Craig Forth of Syracuse ranks second with 86.
Ivan’s rebounds rank sixth in school history
With 12 rebounds against the UAB Blazers, senior forward Ivan McFarlin moved past Bob Mattick and into sixth place on the school’s all-time rebounding list. McFarlin currently has 784 career rebounds, and needs just 12 to move past Desmond Mason and into the top five in OSU history. With another 16 boards, McFarlin will become the fourth player in Oklahoma State history to record 1,000 points and 800 rebounds in a career.
McFarlin moves into 16th place
With 17 points against UNLV, senior forward Ivan McFarlin now has 1,209 career points, placing him in 16th place on the Oklahoma State all-time career scoring list. Against the Runnin’ Rebels, he passed both Arlen Clark and Darwyn Alexander, who had 1,197 and 1,199 points, respectively in their careers. Ivan became the 16th player in school history to record 1,200 points in a career as a Cowboy. Next up is No. 15 Kevin Fitzgerald, who had 1,220 points in his three-year career in a Cowboy uniform.
Speaking of points
While all of McFarlin’s points have been scored while at OSU, there are a few other Cowboys that have quite a few points in their collegiate careers. With 20 points against UNLV, Joey Graham now has 1,229 points in his career with stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma State. John Lucas, who spent two years at Baylor before transferring to OSU, has 1,439 points as a collegian. That total ranks 23rd among all-time Big 12 players. Lucas surpassed Colorado’s Michel Morandais who did rank 23rd. Next up is Gabe Muoneke of Texas, who had 1,456 points and sits in 22nd place.
Sutton takes over eighth place
With an 81-29 win over Washington State last weekend, Coach Sutton took over sole possesion of eighth place on the all-time coaching victories list for Division I. Ed Diddle of Western Kentucky had 759 career wins, culminating in 1964. Next up for Coach Sutton will be his mentor, Mr. Iba, who had 767 career victories and sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. Coach Sutton currently has 763 victories.
Pokes riding homecourt winning streak
With an 86-73 win over UAB on Dec. 10, Oklahoma State extended its homecourt winning streak to 21 games, the sixth-longest streak in school history and the fifth-longest current streak in the NCAA. OSU won its final home game of the 2002-03 season with a 77-52 win over Texas A&M on March 8. The Cowboys went undefeated in Gallagher-Iba Arena last season, winning all 15 home contests. The current streak includes a 77-56 win over sixth-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 14, a 70-66 victory over No. 13 ranked Texas Tech on Jan. 31, an 80-60 win over 13th-ranked Kansas on Feb. 9, and a 76-67 victory over No. 10 Texas on March 1. With those four wins over ranked opponents last season, Oklahoma State ran its string of victories over ranked opponents at home to nine.
Non-league record in Gallagher-Iba
Oklahoma State will continue the non-conference home portion of its schedule when the Cowboys host Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Pokes are riding a current 38 game home non-conference winning streak that dates back to 1998. OSU has won 117 of its last 118 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 147-7 (.955) in those types of games. The Cowboys have not allowed more than 66 points in 33 of their last 35 home non-conference contests.
Down the road
Oklahoma State won’t play another home game for three weeks following the Northwestern Oklahoma State game. The Cowboys will then take a week off from game competition for the holidays before returning to action on Tuesday, Dec. 28. On that date, the Cowboys will face Gonzaga in the Touchtone Energy All-College Classic in Oklahoma City. The game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., and will be televised by ESPN2. OSU will then travel to Corpus Christi, Texas, to play the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Jan. 3, and open Big 12 Conference action on Jan. 8 at Texas Tech. Oklahoma State’s next home game will be on Jan. 11 against Missouri.
