Thompson, Small lead 3-point barrage in win over Wofford

Wednesday, December 20

Stillwater

2:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

6-5,0-0Big 12

Wofford

6-6,0-0SoCon

Wofford

Oklahoma St.

December 20, 2023 | Cowboy Basketball

Box Score Postgame Notes Game Book (PDF)

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State knocked down 15 threes in a 76-70 win over Wofford on Wednesday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Bryce Thompson scored 19 points for the surging Cowboys (6-5) who have won three straight and five of their last seven games on the heels of a 1-3 start.

Javon Small added 14 points and five assists – three of them during a 7-0 OSU run that pushed a three-point lead to double-figures with just over 1:00 to play.

Eric Dailey Jr. tacked on 12 points and Quion Williams packaged team-highs seven rebounds, four steals and seven assists.

Corey Tripp paced Wofford (6-6) with 24 points on 11-of-21 shooting and Kyler Filewich added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

With Wofford's defense clogging the interior, OSU took more than half of its shots from the perimeter but knocked down 15-of-33 (.455). Thompson (5-of-7), Small (4-of-7) and Jarius Hicklen (3-for-3) combined for 12 of those makes.

OSU led 24-11 near the 12:00-mark of the first half after sinking five of its first six three-point attempts but made just three more the rest of the period.

Kyler Filewich scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half to help Wofford close the margin to 37-35 at the intermission.

Tripp scored the first two baskets of the second half, including a floater that gave the Terriers their first lead, 39-37, with 18:51 remaining.

Thompson's steal and slam capped a 9-0 counterpunch that put OSU back in front, 57-48 with 9:00 to play.

Wofford made one last gasp in the final minutes, closing to within 67-64 on a pair of Filewich free throws with 2:10 left.

OSU's Small helped turn the tide once more with assists on three straight possessions – first to Williams, then (off of his own steal) to Garrison for a fastbreak dunk. After Thompson stole the ensuing inbound, Small found Hicklen at the top of the key for a three-pointer and 74-64 lead with 1:00 remaining.

NOTABLE:

OSU's 29 threes in wins over ORU and Wofford mark the most-productive two-game stretch in program history. The previous best was 28, set late in the 2018-19 season against Texas Tech (17-of-32) and Kansas (11-of-29).
The Terriers outshot their hosts 49.2% to 45.9% and outscored them 46-14 in the paint but made just 6-of-21 threes. Those shooting percentages were important on a day where second chances were in short supply for both teams. OSU grabbed 25 of 30 rebounds on the defensive end (.833). Wofford snagged 30 of the 33 OSU misses (.909).
The teams combined for a bit of history with neither side missing a free throw. The Cowboys were 5-for-5 and Wofford made all four of its attempts. It's the first time in at least 80 years (OSU's box score archive goes back to the early 1950s) that both sides have been perfect at the foul line.
OSU's last game without a free throw miss came nearly three years ago – a 9-for-9 performance against Kansas State on Feb. 13, 2021.
The Cowboys touched the 20-assist mark for the fourth time in seven games, banking 21 on 28 baskets. They reached that plateau on just two occasions in all of last season and only once in 2021-22.

UP NEXT:

The Cowboys end an 11-day layoff on Dec. 31 when they play host to South Carolina State (2 p.m. CT, ESPN+).