Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
10-12,2-7Big 12
Kansas State
14-8,4-5Big 12
Cowboys fend off Kansas State
February 03, 2024 | Cowboy Basketball
STILLWATER -- Coming off its most lopsided loss of the season and a potentially season-ending shoulder injury to veteran leader Bryce Thompson, how would Oklahoma State respond?
Quite well.
Javon Small led a group of five double-figure scorers with 18 points and Quion Williams recorded a double-double to lead the Cowboys past Kansas State, 75-72, Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU (10-12, 2-7 Big 12) has won two of its last three games on the heels of an 0-6 conference start and will look to take that momentum on the road next week to Houston (Tuesday, 6 p.m., ESPN2) and Oklahoma (Saturday, 6 p.m., ESPN+).
K-State (14-8, 4-5) dropped its fourth straight after opening 4-1.
Small was 5-for-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from deep, and dished out seven assists.
Williams grabbed all 10 of his rebounds in the first half (six of them on the offensive glass) and scored 10 of his career-high 17 after halftime. It was his fifth double-figure rebounding game of the season and his third double-double.
Freshman Jamyron Keller had totaled just four points in 26 Big 12 minutes coming into the day but stepped up Saturday with 12 points in 24 minutes.
Brandon Garrison and John-Michael Wright added 10 apiece.
Wright's three-pointer with just over 19:00 to play snapped a 29-all tie, and the Cowboys played from in front the rest of the way.
Tylor Perry scored all 19 of his points in the second half on five three-pointers for the Wildcats, who kept pace but could never overtake.
Two weeks after squandering a 10-point second half lead, the Cowboys avoided a repeat performance by knowing down 59% of their shots over the final 20 minutes.
Following Wright's basket, the OSU lead bounced between two and nine points the rest of the way.
For the game, K-State shot 46.8% to OSU's 44.1% and both sides made nine three-pointers.
A 14-5 free throw advantage swung the game in the Cowboys' favor. They knocked down 5-of-8 from the line over the last 2:00 to make a 70-66 lead stand up.
Keller split a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to make it 75-72 and OSU avoided overtime when K-State missed a pair of off-balance threes on its final possession.
In contrast to the second half, the Cowboys struggled early, missing 18 of their first 24 shots over the first 15:00 before settling in to make 20 of their last 35.
K-State led 12-4 out of the gate and 24-17 at the 6:50-mark before enduring a six-minute dry spell.
OSU capitalized with a 12-0 run.
Justin McBride's three-pointer tied the game at 24 and a Williams triple gave OSU its first lead with 2:28 to play in the half.
Small banked home a twisting jumper to stretch the Cowboy cushion to 29-24.
K-State closed to within 29-27 at the break and tied it at 29 on a Cam Carter jumper with 19:43 to play, but OSU scored on five of its next eight possessions to regain control.
