Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Eastern Washington
Cowboys Defeat Eastern Washington, Advance To Second Round
March 19, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Oklahoma State seemed to forget it was a No. 2 seed. Eastern Washington sure didn't act like a No. 15.
The Cowboys won 75-56 Friday, but not before Eastern Washington tied the score at halftime to stun the partisan Oklahoma State crowd.
In the second round of the East Rutherford Regional on Sunday, the Cowboys will meet No. 7 seed Memphis, a 59-43 winner over South Carolina.
The Eagles, making their first NCAA appearance, got 12 first-half points from Gregg Smith, their 6-foot-10, 285-pound center who had 2 inches and 48 pounds on Ivan McFarlin, the Cowboys' biggest starter.
But Smith, who averaged 2.6 points this season, had only four points in the second half, sitting out the first 4{ minutes after halftime. Oklahoma State started the second half with a 12-2 burst.
The Big 12 champions (28-3) did not put away the slower-but-pesky Eagles (17-13) until Tony Allen keyed a 14-2 spree late in the second half that turned a 55-48 lead into a 69-50 bulge with 4:05 to go.
McFarlin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State and Allen had 17 points. John Lucas, the Big 12 player of the year, scored 15 points.
Alvin Snow, the Big Sky Conference player of the year and Eastern Washington's leading scorer with a 15.2-point average, missed his first seven shots. He did not score until he made a layup with 2:10 left that cut Oklahoma State's lead to 73-56. He wound up 1-for-10 for two points.
Brendon Merritt had 14 for the Eagles, who received their first NCAA invitation by winning the Big Sky.
The Eagles, bidding to become just the fifth No. 15 seed to win a game since the NCAA began seeding in 1979, held a 28-26 lead with 4:59 left in the first half when Marc Axton connected on a 3-pointer.
Early in the first half, Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton benched almost his entire first team and played reserves for several minutes.
But with Smith on the bench, Oklahoma State quickly took charge after halftime. Allen blocked Snow's jumper and fed Joey Graham, who made a 5-footer for a 40-36 lead. Then, with 15:52 left, McFarlin stole a pass and drove in for a layup and a 48-38 lead.
Josh Barnard's 3-pointer drew the Eagles to 55-48 with 8:28 left. Then Daniel Bobik connected on a 3-pointer to ignite Oklahoma State's second run of the second half. Allen had nine points in the spree, which he capped with two free throws.
Eastern Washington went 3:49 without a field goal in the run. The Eagles, whose field goal percentage of .483 was No. 22 in the country, missed 11 of their first 14 shots in the second half and hit only .356 for the game.
