Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Mavericks in Season Opener
November 17, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Texas-Arlington (1-2)
at Oklahoma State (0-0)
to open the regular season
Friday, November 18, 2005 • 7:05 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowboys Host Texas-Arlington
Oklahoma State opens the 2005-06 regular season hosting the Texas-Arlington Mavericks on Friday, Nov. 18, inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. The Cowboys went 2-0 in the exhibition portion of their schedule, defeating a pair of ranked NAIA squads. OSU defeated 13th-ranked Oklahoma City 107-64, then took care of No. 3 Oklahoma Christian, 84-62. UTA has already played three regular-season games. The Mavericks opened the season in the BCA Classic in Seattle, Wash., falling to Miami, Fla., in their opener 76-65 and defeating Northern Arizona in their second game, 68-59. UTA fell to UNC-Greensboro 61-39 in their final game.
On Television
A late addition to the Oklahoma State television lineup, Friday’s game will be televised and produced by Cox Communications and the Cowboy Sports Network. Chad McKee will handle the play-by-play duties while Bryndon Manzer will provide expert analysis. The game can be seen on KTFO-UPN Channel 10 in Tulsa, and on Fox Sports Southwest in the state of Oklahoma and northern portions of Texas, including the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex.
Last Time Out
Torre Johnson scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting coming off the bench and added 11 rebounds as the Cowboys defeated Oklahoma Christian 84-62 last Friday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was their second-consecutive win over an NAIA ranked opponent. The Eagles were ranked No. 3 in the NAIA preseason poll. The scoring was distributed evenly throughout the OSU lineup. Senior Aaron Pettway scored 11 points and grabbed nine boards, while sophomore JamesOn Curry added 10. David Monds and Byron Eaton each chipped in nine for the Pokes. OSU struggled in the first half, shooting just 36.4 percent against a stout defense. Meanwhile, OC shot 48.1 percent from the floor and tied the game 33-33 at intermission. Oklahoma State played much better, both offensively and defensively in the second half. The Cowboys made 19-of-33 baskets from the floor and 13-of-16 shots from the free-throw line in the second period. OSU outscored the Eagles 51-29 in the second stanza.
Cowboys Excel in Exhibition Contests
Oklahoma State completed another successful exhibition slate this season. OSU has been very successful in exhibition games over the years, including a 29-1 mark in the Eddie Sutton era. That lone loss came against the Athletes First squad on Nov. 9, 2000, with the traveling team coming away with a 96-95 win over the Pokes in Enid, Okla. Prior to 2000, the Cowboys had won 22 consecutive exhibition contests. The streak dated back to Nov. 22, 1988, when the Cowboys lost 80-63 to an outstanding Soviet team — led by Sharunas Marchulenis, Arvidas Sabonis and Alexandr Volkov. With the 107-64 win over Oklahoma City, OSU has now reached the century mark 13 times since 1988.
More from the two Exhibitions
• Junior college transfer Torre Johnson, Jr., led the Cowboys in scoring in the two exhibition contests, averaging 17 points per game. He shot 14-of-18 from the floor, and also averaged 6.5 rebounds in the two exhibitions.
• Sophomore JamesOn Curry averaged 15 points and also led the team with eight assists in the two games.
• David Monds averaged 10.5 points in just 14 minutes per game, and led the team in rebounding with 14 boards.
• Freshman Roderick Flemings quietly averaged 10 points in 18 minutes per game, connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field.
• Senior Aaron Pettway tied for team honors in rebounding with 14 and had a team-high eight blocked shots, including seven in the game vs. Oklahoma City.
• Point guards Byron Eaton and Jamaal Brown tied for second on the squad with seven assists each, but also had five and six turnovers, respectively.
• As a team, the Cowboys shot 53 percent from the field, but just 31.6 percent (6 of 19) from beyond the three-point arc.
• They outrebounded their opponents by an average of 14 boards per game, and forced 46 turnovers in two games.
• The opposing team shot just 38.5 percent from the floor, although OCU and Oklahoma Christian did make 14-of-32 treys vs. OSU.
• Oklahoma State outscored its two opponents by an average of 32.5 points per game.
About the Mavericks
Texas-Arlington is predicted to finish somewhere between third and fifth place in the Southland Conference, according to the preseason basketball publications. One thing is for certain, senior forward Steven Thomas is a unanimous preseason first-team all-conference selection. The Sporting News even tabbed Thomas the preseason Player of the Year in the Southland. He led the team in scoring (17.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg) last season and shot 59.3 percent from the floor. Senior guard Jarrett Howell is also a capable scorer, leading the team with a 17 points-per-game average this season. The Mavericks return their entire starting lineup from a 13-15 campaign last year. UTA is coached by Eddie McCarter, in his 14th season with a 167-197 record.
Series History with UTA
Oklahoma State leads the all-time series with Texas-Arlington, 8-1, including a 4-0 mark in Stillwater. The last time these two teams played was on Dec. 6, 1995, with OSU prevailing in an 80-63 win. UTA’s only win in the series came on Dec. 3, 1987, as the Mavericks downed the Cowboys 69-58 in Arlington. A complete look at the all-time series can be found on page 4-60 of the 2005-06 Oklahoma State Cowboy Basketball Media Guide.
