Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Houston Baptist
Cowboys Win Season Opener
November 13, 2010 | Cowboy Basketball
Nov. 13, 2010
Stillwater, Okla. — Oklahoma State had four different players score in double figures and the Cowboys escaped with an 86-73 win over Houston Baptist here Saturday afternoon in the 2010-11 season opener. OSU outscored the Huskies 38-4 in the paint as HBU connected on 9-of-13 three-pointers and 20-of-28 free throws.
“As you can see, we have a long way to go as a basketball team,” Ford said following the game. “We have a long way to go in a lot of areas. Yes, I'm unhappy in a lot of these areas, but this is a good gauge to see where we're at and where we want to go. We have to improve in a lot of areas to become a better team.”
Senior Marshall Moses led all Cowboys with 17 points and also added seven rebounds. Junior-college transfer Jéan-Paul Olukemi scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards off the bench, while senior Nick Sidorakis chipped in 15 points, including 3-of-5 treys. Junior Keiton Page scored 13 points and matched a career high with seven assists.
“I think if you saw the look of Marshall's (Moses) eyes and the look in Keiton's (Page) eyes when I was addressing the team after the game, then you could see in their eyes what they're thinking because they know how tough this is,” said Ford. “We can see a little bit of concern in their eyes and that we're better than this. We need to be better than this.”
Oklahoma State slowly built a lead that extended to 13 points just before intermission as the Cowboys led 41-28 at halftime. However, Houston Baptist, led by Andrew Gonzalez with 24 points and Miles Dixon with 22, shot 53.6 percent in the second period, including 6-of-9 from long range. OSU led by as many as 20 with 14-1/2 minutes left in the game, but HBU held on, cutting the lead to 68-60 at the 7:13 mark on a three-pointer by Dixon.
OSU forced 23 turnovers while committing just 15 and outrebounded the Huskies 39-31.
Oklahoma State (1-0) will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 17 when the Cowboys host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
