Pokes Pick up Fifth-Straight Home Win With 69-63 Win Over Kansas State

Oklahoma State secured its fifth-straight home win, and sixth win in its last nine games, with the 69-63 win over Kansas State in what could possibly be the final home game in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season.

STILLWATER – On a night that had an emotional feel to it with it possibly being the final home game in Gallagher-Iba Arena this season, Oklahoma State found a way to survive a sloppy and at multiple times, a poorly officiated game, to beat Kansas State 69-63.

The win marked the Cowboys’ fifth-straight home win, and the sixth win in the last nine games and brought the Pokes’ overall record to 16-14 on the season and 6-11 in conference play.

“Proud of our kids,” head coach Mike Boynton said. “We fought through a pretty tough stretch at some point this year and they responded like champions and played like it mattered to put on that jersey every day. For us to finish the regular season, at home anyway, with this win is really important. Now we’ve got a chance to go on the road and see if we can continue it. Haven’t had a ton of success on the road, but this team’s won some games before and we’ll see if we can get ready in the next two days for probably the hottest team in the country.”

As it could be the final home game in GIA this season, it was fitting that senior Cameron McGriff led the way for the Pokes. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting with five rebounds.

“It felt good,” McGriff said of potentially finishing his career in GIA with a win. “I won’t ever play in the gym again; well, we don’t know that yet, but a lot of fun times and memories in there and it felt good leaving on a high note.”

“We thought that Cam would be able to use his physicality and be able to get the ball into the paint,” Boynton said. “We wanted to put him in a position where they would either have to foul him or allow him to shoot layups. I was proud of his effort, particularly him going to the glass and playing the right way.”

Mike Boynton and Co. also got great play out of sophomore guard Isaac Likekele. Likekele finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

“Credit to Isaac Likekele, I love him,” Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber said. “His lines are unbelievable. McGriff had a great finish to his career. I know we weren't happy when Dean Wade and Barry Brown left. They will feel the same when Cam McGriff, Lindy Waters, and Thomas Dziagwa leave, they've had good careers. I hate when you hear nationally that the league on the bottom isn't that good. They're pretty good. If you have any basketball knowledge, their 7-0 in the top 25 when Isaac Likekele gets mono, and it changes their whole season, and now they’re pretty good again. Their playing very hard."

It was a sloppy game as there were a combine 38 turnovers, 21 to Oklahoma State. It was also an interesting night in the stat sheet in regards to fouls. In the first half, there were a combined 11 fouls called. Fast forward to the second half and there were a combined 32 fouls called.

It was an even game from a rebound standpoint at 33 apiece, but the Cowboys were dominant on the defensive end as they hauled in 23 boards.

As Boynton mentioned above, the Cowboys are preparing to face arguably the hottest team in the country this weekend: Texas. The Longhorns are riding a five-game winning streak, including upset wins over West Virginia and Texas Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sat. March 7 on ESPN2.