Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
18-13, 8-10
Oklahoma
22-9, 12-6
Nash Scores 27 in Loss to Oklahoma
March 12, 2015 | Cowboy Basketball
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)- Le'Bryan Nash put up 27 points but Oklahoma used an early second-half run to beat Oklahoma State 64-49 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Oklahoma advanced to play No. 13 Iowa State in the semifinals Friday night. The second-seeded Cyclones needed a buzzer-beater to beat Texas 69-67 in an earlier quarterfinal.
Le'Bryan Nash had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma State, which may have needed a win or two in the Big 12 tournament to feel good about its chances on Selection Sunday.
"Our numbers speak for themselves, no question," Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. "We put that work in. The numbers speak for themselves."
Jeff Newberry also contributed 10 points for the Cowboys.
By the time the Sooners reached the Sprint Center, though, they were all business.
Good thing, too, because Oklahoma State didn't let them have anything easy early on.
Despite foul trouble that forced Cowboys coach Travis Ford to go 12 players deep in the first half, they still managed to muddy up the game enough to hang around. The Sooners shot just 7 of 30 from the floor over the first 20 minutes, the game having all the flow of quicksand.
Oklahoma State led 32-23 early in the second when the Sooners went on a run.
Hield kicked it off with seven straight points for Oklahoma, and then capped it with a long 3-pointer that gave the sooners a 39-35 lead with 13 minutes left in the game.
Nash tried his best to keep the Cowboys in the game, scoring on an array of spin moves at the rim, a couple of soft floaters and at the foul line. Over more than 10 minutes midway through the second half, the senior forward was the only player wearing orange to score.
"They were smart enough to figure out, `Hey, we need to give him the basketball,'" Ford said "and he made some strong moves."
He couldn't do it alone, though, and the Sooners' balance eventually paid off.
Thomas started to assert himself in the post, Hield kept finding good looks, and Woodard shook off an 0-for-5 first half from the floor to add a couple of key free throws, helping the Sooners end a three-game losing streak in the Big 12 tournament.
"Our last game with them, they really took it from us in the second half. This game, we had open shots - wide open shots," Ford said. "We just didn't convert."
STRESSING SUNDAY
Nash said he wasn't worried about the Cowboys' chances of making the NCAA tournament. "I'm always confident in my team and what we did and our resume," he said. "We had some good wins, three top-10 wins. I feel like everybody sees us as a tournament team."
TIP-INS
Oklahoma State: Nash finished two points shy of his career high.
