Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas Tech
Cowboys Defeat Texas Tech In Big 12 Opener
January 09, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Joey Graham was too aggressive in the first half of No. 7 Oklahoma State's 76-66 win over Texas Tech, accounting for five of his team's 14 first-half turnovers.
``But in the second half I was more patient and a lot of good things started happening for me,'' he said. ``It was just a matter of letting the game come to you.''
Graham had no turnovers in the second half Saturday and finished with 25 points -- including all 10 of his free throw attempts -- and 12 rebounds.
In a meeting of coaches who have more than 1,600 combined wins, OSU's Eddie Sutton got his 766th victory -- and kept Tech's Bobby Knight at 840 wins. Sutton and Knight have a combined 74 years of coaching experience in Division I, with 39 years for Knight and 35 for Sutton.
The Cowboys (11-1, 1-0) used an 18-6 run to take a 60-53 lead with 8:24 remaining. Graham had four points, and his brother, Stephen Graham, had 10 during the run.
The Red Raiders (8-4, 0-1) answered with a 9-3 run, with five points by Ronald Ross and four by Jarrius Jackson, to pull within 68-66 with 2:50 remaining. But they could get no closer.
Ross scored 22 points and Devonne Giles added 20 for the Red Raiders.
John Lucas finished with 20 points for the Cowboys, hitting six 3-pointers _ including two in a row in the final 6 minutes. Ivan McFarlin added 14 points.
``We said, 'As long as we stay together, we can win this,''' Lucas said. ``When we got on top our intensity kept getting higher, and once we got on top I knew it was over.''
Oklahoma State, which has averaged 14 turnovers this season, had 23 against Texas Tech.
``Their defense was the best we've seen them play this season,'' said Oklahoma State assistant coach James Dickey, who preceded Knight as Tech's coach. ``We're happy to get out of here with a win.''
Sutton did not attend a post-game news conference, sending Dickey in his place.
The Cowboys outrebounded Tech 38-22.
``They really beat us badly on the boards,'' Knight said. ``We don't really execute fundamental things during the game and those are things we need to keep getting better at if we're going to win.''
Texas Tech led 36-29 at halftime. Oklahoma State pulled into a 47-all tie on the first of two free throws by Stephen Graham with 11:46 remaining, and took the lead on his second shot.
Knight said there were two different games.
``We played pretty well in the first half, and I think we played about 25 minutes pretty well,'' he said. ``They made some baskets when they had to.''
