Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Rhode Island
Cowboys Fall to Rams, 63-59
January 02, 2010 | Cowboy Basketball
Jan. 2, 2010
Uncasville, Conn. -- Oklahoma State erased a 12-point deficit and led 54-53 with three minutes remaining, but Rhode Island came up with the victory as the Rams defeated the Cowboys 63-59 here Saturday afternoon before 7,111 fans in the Mohegan Sun Arena.
URI jumped out early and led by as many as 12 in the first period when Ben Eaves hit a jumper to make the score 19-7 with under nine minutes remaining before intermission. The Cowboys struggled throughout the first half on both offense and defense, scoring just 26 points and giving up 17 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds by the Rams.
It was a tale of two halves as OSU began chipping away at the Rhode Island lead. After a layup by URI's Keith Cothran, Oklahoma State went on a 12-2 run over the next six minutes and trailed by just one at 39-38. OSU tied the game at 41-41 on a three-pointer by Obi Muonelo at the 13:08 mark, and took its first lead of the contest on another trey by Muonelo three minutes later.
Seven ties and five lead changes later, Rhode Island took the lead for good with 1:11 to play on a layup by Delroy James, two of his team-high 14 points. Muonelo took a pair of three-point attempts in the final 30 seconds, but failed to connect on either one.
Junior guard James Anderson, who entered the game as the team's leading scorer at 22.1 points per game, struggled offensively and scored just 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting before fouling out with 3:26 remaining in the game and OSU trailing by just one. Junior forward Marshall Moses scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, but the Cowboys' lone true post player fouled out with just under three minutes left in the game after completing a three-point play and giving OSU their last lead at 54-53.
Oklahoma State (11-2) will return home and host the Coppin State Eagles on Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game will be televised by the Cowboy Sports Network.
