Pokes Suffer Second Half Meltdown in 65-47 Loss to West Virginia

It was a tale of two halves as Oklahoma State suffers a complete meltdown in the second half to lose to West Virginia

STILLWATER -- After playing a solid first half of action and going into halftime with a 33-28 lead over West Virginia, Oklahoma State had a complete second-half meltdown to lose 65-47 to the Mountaineers.

With the loss, Oklahoma State moves to 13-13 on the season and 3-10 in Big 12 play.

As it says in the preview, it was the quintessential tale of two halves. Oklahoma State had a strong first half as they lead the Mountaineers for nearly 17 minutes going into halftime with a 33-28 lead.

The combo of Cameron McGriff and Yor Anei combined for 25 of the Pokes' 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field. The Cowboys also shot 62% from the field in the first half, hauled in 12 defensive rebounds, had five assists and three steals.

Fast forward to the second half and it's a totally different ball game and it all started with the buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Jermaine Haley getting the Mountaineers to within five. The Cowboys shot just 16% from the field and scored just 14 points and were outscored 37-14 in the second half.

"We just didn't have the right focus coming out of the locker room for whatever reason," Mike Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. "We played a pretty competitive [first ] half of basketball, but 20 minutes doesn't make the game. We were playing against a really, really good team on the road; they were going to respond. They did and we didn't."

In fact, going back to the 2:55 mark of the first half, West Virginia outscored Oklahoma State 42-17. The Pokes were also out-rebounded in the second half 26-17. For the game, WVU out-rebounded the Pokes 42-29, with 15 coming from WVU freshman Oscar Tshiebwe and 10 from Derek Culver.

Much unlike the first half, the combo of Anei and McGriff combined for just six points. For the game, McGriff finished with a team-high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting with five rebounds.

Sophomore Isaac Likekele struggled from the floor as he finished with just five points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from the free throw line. He did, however, haul in eight rebounds.

The Cowboys are back in action this coming Saturday as they plsy host to Oklahoma in the second Bedlam of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and is being televised on ESPN2.