Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Host Mercer Sunday Afternoon
December 17, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
Mercer (1-3) at Oklahoma State (6-3)
Sunday, December 18, 2005 • 3:08 p.m.
Gallagher-Iba Arena [13,611] • Stillwater, Okla.
Television — Cowboy Sports Network/COX Communications
Play-by-Play • John Holcomb
Analyst • Bryndon Manzer
Reporter • Mike Wolfe
Stillwater
Cox Communications Ch. 37
Heartland Wireless Ch. 16
Oklahoma City
Cox Communications Ch. 37
Tulsa
Cox Communications Ch. 10
Heartland Wireless Ch. 29
Radio — Cowboy Sports Network
Dave Hunziker & Tom Dirato
Flagship Station - KSPI 93.7 FM (Stillwater)
internet - www.okstate.com
Cowboys Host Bears
After a week full of final exams, Oklahoma State returns to the court on Sunday, Dec. 18, and will host the Mercer Bears inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tipoff is set for 3:08 p.m., and the game will be televised by Cowboy Sports Network/Cox Communications. OSU is 6-3 this season and coming off a heartbreaking 64-62 loss to No. 9 Gonzaga in Seattle last Saturday in the Battle in Seattle. Mercer is 1-3 this season and the Bears have not played since a 67-58 loss in overtime at Gardner-Webb on Dec. 5. Oklahoma State has never played Mercer on the hardwood, but the Cowboys are 2-2 all-time vs. teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference. OSU is 2-1 against Jacksonville and 0-1 vs. Florida Atlantic of the Atlantic Sun.
On Television
Saturday’s game will be televised within the state of Oklahoma by the Cowboy Sports Network and Cox Communications. John Holcomb of KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa will handle the play-by-play duties while former Cowboy Bryndon Manzer will provide color commentary. Mike Wolfe of KOTV will serve as the courtside reporter. It will be aired on KTFO-UPN TV-41 in Tulsa, KSWO (Cable only) in Lawton, and on Fox Sports Southwest in Oklahoma City, Stillwater and the southern half of the state of Oklahoma.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State led by as many as 12 points, but 31 trips to the free throw line will propel any team as No. 9 Gonzaga squeaked past the Cowboys 64-62 Saturday in the Battle in Seattle. The Cowboys went to the line just seven times, connecting on six. That one miss, the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds remaining, allowed the Zags Adam Morrison to race down the court and hit an off-balance trey to move past OSU. Junior forward Mario Boggan, who missed the free throw, was the offensive powerhouse for the Pokes, scoring a season-high 19 points. Jamaal Brown scored 12 off the bench for Oklahoma State, and despite an off shooting night, JamesOn Curry had 10 assists. Morrison scored a game-high 25 points despite being hounded all afternoon by Marcus Dove. He scored 11 of his 25 points from the charity stripe.
Up Next
Oklahoma State will travel to Oklahoma City to compete in the O’Reilly All-College Classic on Thursday, Dec. 22, at 5 p.m. inside the Ford Center. The Cowboys will play Tennessee (5-0) and the game will be televised by espn2. Following that game, the Oklahoma Sooners will play West Virginia. Game time for that contest is set for approximately 7:20 p.m. OSU will then take off a couple of days for Christmas before returning to action on Dec. 28 as the Pokes travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on the UAB Blazers. That game, set for 6:30 p.m., can be seen on espn2 as well.
About the Bears
Mercer is 1-3 this season, and three of the Bears’ first four games have been on the road. Mercer lost at Georgia Southern in its season opener 98-79. The Bears defeated Savannah State 88-63 in their home opener. The Bears went on the road and opened the conference season with an 86-80 loss at Campbell followed by their overtime loss at Gardner-Webb. Mercer is led by sophomore guard Jacob Skogen who is averaging 21.3 points per game. Will Emerson, a 6-10 senior forward, is averaging 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. As a team, Mercer is averaging 76.2 points per game while giving up 78.5, just a -2.3 scoring margin despite being 1-3. The Bears are coached by Mark Slonaker who in his ninth season as head coach and has a 96-137 record.
Shutting Down the Opponent
Oklahoma State has held every opponent this season under its scoring average entering the game. The biggest shutdown of the season came in the game against No. 9 Gonzaga, when the Cowboys held the Zags to just 64 points, 21.5 below their seven-game average entering the contest.
ESPNU Ranks GIA No. 1
In a recent feature as part of ESPNU’s Honor Roll series, Gallagher-Iba Arena was named as the best college basketball venue in the nation. The selections were voted on by sportscasters, sports writers and coaches. The historic arena soared above facilities like Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium, Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas, Oregon’s McArthur Court and Madison Square Garden. Gallagher-Iba Arena is not the oldest nor the biggest, but it is the best in college basketball.
Johnson Garners Big 12 Rookie of the Week Honors
Junior Torre Johnson was the second Cowboy in three weeks to be named the Big 12 Conference’s Rookie of the Week, for the period ending Dec. 4. He averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds in two OSU wins last week. Torre averaged 27 minutes off the bench, shooting 12-of-20 (.600) from the field and 5-of-6 (.833) from the free throw line. He had a career-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting in an 80-62 win over UNLV. He followed with a 12-point, seven-rebound effort in a 64-54 victory over SMU. He is second among OSU scorers with 12.1 points per game and has posted double digits in six of eight contests this season.
