Game Notes: Sam Houston

Sunday, November 12

Stillwater

2:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Sam Houston

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November 11, 2023 | Cowboy Basketball

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Sam Houston (1-1) at Oklahoma State (0-1)
Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023 | 2:01 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)

Tickets: okstate.com/tickets
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ w/ Mike Wolfe & Bryndon Manzer
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network w/ Dave Hunziker & John Holcomb
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Series: OSU leads 3-0 (3-0 in Stillwater)
Last: Dec. 6, 2022 in Stillwater (OSU won 65-51)

The Basics:
The Oklahoma State Cowboys welcome the Sam Houston Bearkats to Gallagher-Iba Arena for a Sunday afternoon tipoff (2 p.m. CT, ESPN+). OSU won last December's meeting at GIA behind 18 points from Bryce Thompson and lead the all-time series 3-0. The Bearkats (1-1) won 26 games and the WAC regular season title last year before making the jump to Conference USA over the summer. The Cowboys are looking to shake off Monday's season-opening loss to Abilene Christian.

Tickets:
To purchase seats, visit okstate.com/tickets or call (877) 255-4678.

Salute to Veterans:
The Cowboys will pay a special tribute to current and former military members at Sunday's game. OSU has partnered with Vet Tix to provide more than 100 free tickets to military families from around the area. The Cowboys are also teaming up with Bluestar Mothers Drive to collect items for care packages that will be sent out to active military personnel around the world. Fans are encouraged to donate any of the following items at Sunday's game: Single-serve coffee packets, beef jerky, tuna & chicken (foil packages), ramen noodles (single serve), soup (single-serve pop top), canned fruit (pop top), canned ravioli, beefaroni & spaghetti, canned beef stew, canned chicken & dumplings, microwavable mac & cheese, cereal (single serve), pop tarts, peanut butter, Pringles, toothbrushes & toothpaste, deodorant (male & female), lip balm, playing cards, bar soap, Gatorade or liquid IV packets, nuts, granola bars, candy and gum.

Watch:
The game will air on the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Mike Wolfe and Bryndon Manzer. Fans can subscribe to ESPN's over-the-top streaming service for $10.99/month ($110/year) or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for as little as $14.99/month. Visit plus.espn.com for more information.

Listen:
Dave Hunziker and John Holcomb describe the action across the Cowboy Radio Network.
Visit okstate.com/radio for a full list of network affiliates. Fans outside the listening area can tune in via the Varsity Sports App or at okstate.com/listen.

Last Time:
Nov. 6, 2023 (Stillwater) – Abilene Christian 64, OSU 59

OSU missed 12 free throws in a five-point season-opening loss to Abilene Christian.
The Cowboys finished just 8-of-20 at the stripe and connected on only 5-of-23 from three.
Bryce Thompson scored 19 points and Mike Marsh – one of six players making their Cowboy debuts – added 13 points and nine rebounds.
OSU trailed by as many as 18 points with 13:25 to play but rallied to within a possession. Freshman Connor Dow connected on three triples in a span of just over 3:00 to get the rally started. Thompson converted three contested jumpers and Marsh made a layup with 2:23 to go cut the margin to 58-55.
OSU forced five ACU turnovers in the final 60 seconds but couldn't capitalize. Dow missed a deep three that would have tied it with 5 seconds left.

Game One Leftovers:

Quion Williams earned his first career start in Monday's opener and played all but 94 seconds. He smashed his previous career-high for minutes (29 vs. Baylor on Feb. 27, 2023) and recorded double-figure rebounds (10) for the second time in his Cowboy career.
Bryce Thompson logged his 55th consecutive career start dating back to his sophomore season.
John-Michael Wright has started all 37 games as a Cowboy and all 123 of his NCAA career.
Jacksonville grad transfer Mike Marsh started and grabbed nine rebounds in his debut. In just over 22 minutes of court time, he personally snapped up 42.8% of the ACU misses. Per KenPom, that defensive rebound percentage ranks among the top-10 nationally heading into the weekend.
OSU's free throw percentage (8-of-20, .400) was its lowest since a 2-for-5 (.400) effort against Kansas on Mar. 2, 2019.
Due to injuries, the Cowboys faced ACU without starting point guard Javon Small and freshman backup Jamyron Keller, as well as redshirt freshman big man Isaiah Miranda.
OSU forced five of the 15 ACU turnovers in the final 60 seconds to win that battle (15-13) but the Cowboys were unable to capitalize on those late opportunities. ACU outscored them 15-6 in point off turnovers.

Unfamiliar Territory:

OSU is 0-1 for just the second time in the last 28 years. The 2018-19 Cowboys opened with a loss at Charlotte but bounced back with three straight wins by double-figures against UTSA (82-60), College of Charleston (70-58) and Memphis (84-64) and, later that month, upset 19th-ranked LSU.
No OSU team has opened a season with consecutive losses since 1970 (the first season following Henry Iba's retirement) when the Sam Aubrey-led Cowboys dropped back-to-back games at Oregon State. Iba endured his own 0-2 start to the 1965-66 season after losing the top six scorers from his 1965 Big 8 championship squad.

Stacking Up with the Best:

OSU guards John-Michael Wright and Jarius Hicklen rank among the NCAA's active career leaders in several categories. Both players are in their fifth seasons of eligibility, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wright – who played his first three years at High Point – has 1,854 career points. Only Texas' Max Abmas (2,593) and Maryland's Jahmir Young (2,004) have scored more total points at the Division I level.
Hicklen – who played his first two years at Division II Oklahoma Baptist and the last two in the ASUN at North Florida -- is one of just 25 players across all levels with 250+ career three-pointers.

NCAA DI* Active Leaders // Career Points
1. Max Abmas (Oral Roberts) -- 2,593
2. Jahmir Young (Texas) -- 2,004
3. John-Michael Wright (Oklahoma St.) -- 1,854
4. Armando Bacot (North Carolina) -- 1,834
5. Isaiah Stevens (Colorado St.) -- 1,811
*=Totals accumulated while playing for a DI school; Through Nov. 10, 2023

Scouting Sam Houston:

Sam Houston begins its first season as a member of the new-look Conference USA.
The Bearkats finished 26-8 last year, won last year's WAC regular season title and advanced to the second round of the NIT. They ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense (4th, 59.3), field goal percentage defense (7th, .391) and turnovers forced (11th, 16.6).
First-year head coach Chris Mudge was promoted last April after 13 seasons under Jason Hooten. The latter took the New Mexico State job last spring.
Mudge must replace four starters, including 2023 WAC player of the year Qua Grant, but does return three of the top four scorers. His team is picked sixth out of nine teams in the CUSA preseason poll.
Sam Houston opened with a 64-57 win at Pacific but fell to Utah Valley in overtime in Thursday's home debut. The Bearkats trailed 64-54 with 1:41 to play before reeling off the next 10 points to send the game to overtime.
6-7 junior forward Cameron Huefner is a preseason All-CUSA selection after averaging 9.8 points on 41.7% three-point shooting a year ago.
Guards Lamar Wilkerson and Jaden Ray have stepped into larger roles after coming off the bench last season. Through two games, Wilkerson is averaging a team-best 17.5 points in 32.5 minutes. Ray has put up 9.0 points and 6.0 assists in 35.5 minutes.
A pair of newcomers have claimed the other two starting spots. 6-11 TCU transfer Souleymayne Doumbia (6.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg) provides an interior presence and 6-5 wing Davon Barnes (12.5 ppg) was a consistent double-figure scorer last year for a Texas Southern team that reached the NCAA tournament.
The two Bearkat opponents have combined to shoot just 16.3% from deep (7-of-43) while averaging 21.5 turnovers.
Sam Houston is shooting just 35.7% as a team (22.5% from three) but has outscored its foes 48-19 at the foul line and 53-24 off turnovers.

Matchup Mashup:

OSU assistant James Barrett is a Sam Houston graduate. He played two seasons for the Bearkats (2006-08) and started for them in their 2006 visit to Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU associate head coach Terrence Rencher was a Sam Houston assistant during the 2012-13 season under Jason Hooten. The Bearkats finished 17-17 and made the semifinals of the Southland tournament.

The Series with Sam Houston:
OSU has won all three meetings in the series. All of them have taken place in Stillwater.

Dec. 6, 2022 (Stillwater) – OSU 65, SH 51

Bryce Thompson put up a game-high 17 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting to pace OSU.
Thompson scored all but two of his points before halftime as the Cowboys took a 32-20 lead into the locker room. They protected it with a 61% second-half shooting effort.
Helped by Moussa Cisse's 13 rebounds and four blocks, the Cowboys enjoyed a 37-22 edge on the glass and held the Bearkats to 34.7% shooting and what would turn out to be a season-low for points (51).
Sam Houston will roll out a completely different starting five from the one that played at GIA less than a year ago. Four current Bearkats came off the bench in that game. Kian Scroggins scored nine points in 22 minutes and Cameron Huefner added six points on 2-of-3 three-point shooting. Jaden Ray (2 pts, 2 ast, 15 min) and Lamar Wilkerson (3 reb, 16 min) also saw action.
Three OSU returners saw time last year against Sam Houston and combined to hit seven of the nine Cowboys three-pointers. In addition to Thompson, John-Michael Wright had 10 points and Quion Williams chipped in three in nine minutes off the bench.

Nov. 20, 2006 (Stillwater) – OSU 86, SH 67

Senior forward Mario Boggan delivered 21 points to lead the Cowboys to victory.
Sophomore guard Terrel Harris added 18 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting and senior forward David Monds had a career-high 17.
OSU played from behind for most of the first half but closed on a 10-2 run to take a 35-29 lead into the intermission. The Cowboys put up 51 in the second half. JamesOn Curry exploded for 10 points in a span of 2:20 early in the period to push the lead north of 20.
The Cowboys shot 51.9% for the game. Defensively, they forced 23 turnovers and held SHSU to 36.3% from the field.
Ryan Bright (20 points) and Aaron Wade (16) led the Bearkat scoring. OSU assistant coach James Barrett started for the Bearkats and tallied four points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals in 23 minutes.

Nov. 27, 2004 (Stillwater) -- #6 OSU 73, SH 57

Joey Graham scored 18 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and John Lucas put up 14 of his 17 in the same span to help OSU rally back from a six-point halftime deficit.
Down 41-40 with 13 minutes left, the Cowboys launched a 12-3 run to take the lead for good.
Othello Alford scored 11 of his team-high 13 in the first half for Sam Houston, which led 30-22 late in the first half after making eight of its first 15 threes.

An OSU win would...
Even their record at 1-1.
Give them a 4-0 lead in the series with Sam Houston.
Be Boynton's 108th at OSU head coach, giving him sole possession of fourth place on the school's all-time victories list ahead of Paul Hansen who was 107-89 in seven seasons (1979-86).

Four Sleeps Til' Brooklyn:

Oklahoma State is one of four teams competing in next week's Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Cowboys open Thursday, Nov. 16 against St. Bonaventure (5:30 p.m. CT, ESPNU) and will face Auburn or Notre Dame on Friday, Nov. 17. The third-place game tips at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU and the title game airs at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
This will be OSU's first-ever meeting with St. Bonaventure, a first-time Legends Classic invitee and a perennial Atlantic 10 contender under head coach Mark Schmidt. The Bonnies (14-18, 8-10 last year) secured the A-10 title and an NCAA tournament berth in 2021 and advanced to the 2022 NIT semifinals.
Notre Dame (in its first year under former Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry) is the only one of the 15 current ACC members that OSU has never faced.
Auburn (21-13) reached the second round of last year's NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed. OSU's last encounter with the Tigers (a 74-63 road victory) came during the 2015-16 season as part of the Big 12-SEC Challenge.
OSU has been a regular at Barclays Arena – home of the NBA's Nets -- under Brooklyn native Mike Boynton Jr. Past Cowboy teams took part in the 2017 Legends Classic, the 2019 NIT Season Tipoff and the 2022 Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational.

Next Home Action:

The Cowboys are back at Gallagher-Iba Arena for a pair of Thanksgiving Week home games against New Orleans (Monday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m. CT) and Houston Christian (Friday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m. CT).
Tickets are available online at okstate.com/tickets.