OSU Basketball: Cowboys Pick Up Second Big 12 Win of Season Against Kansas State
Things might finally be looking a bit optimistic for Oklahoma State's basketball program. While the season likely isn't salvageable, the Cowboys have such a young team that any momentum snagged late this season could be incredibly valuable moving forward.
On Saturday, the Cowboys defeated Kansas State 75-72 as they were finally able to execute late in the game to secure a victory. Quion Williams had a career game and helped lead Oklahoma State to their tenth victory of the season after returning to the starting lineup after being removed the game prior.
Williams provided 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting along with ten rebounds and three assists. He played 35 minutes and was a plus-ten in those minutes, which led Oklahoma State.
Of course, Javon Small led the team in scoring, posting 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, knocking down three 3-pointers and adding seven assists and five rebounds.
The Cowboys didn't shoot overwhelmingly well against the Wildcats, posting a lower shooting percentage for the game from the field and beyond the arc, but where the Cowboys separated themselves was with free throws. Oklahoma State knocked down 14 of its 18 attempts from the charity line, while only giving the Wildcats seven attempts from the free throw line.
Another bright spot for the Cowboys was freshman guard Jamyron Keller, who played 25 minutes off the bench, adding 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, four rebounds and three assists.
“I challenged [Keller] a while back, honestly,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “I told him coming out of Christmas break that there was a chance for him to take a step up or take a step back."
Keller seemingly took a step up, and adding positive guard minutes off the bench as a freshman will ultimately pay off in many facets.
Now, the Cowboys sit at 10-12 on the season and 2-7 in conference play, but it's encouraging that they were able to seal the victory after collapsing in a similar position in Manhattan a couple of weeks back.
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