Cowboys Win 64-57 in Defensive Battle With Yale
STILLWATER -- It was Oklahoma State's annual N7 game, a game honoring Native American heritage and culture, and it was incredibly fitting that senior Lindy Waters III led the way for the Pokes. It was a close game nearly from start to finish for Oklahoma State as they found a way to get past Yale 64-57 in a defensive battle.
With the win, Oklahoma State moves to 4-0 on the season, a first in the Mike Boynton era.
"Yale is a really, really good team, like we said all along," said head coach Mike Boynton. "They presented some challenges because they could throw the ball inside and they had guys who could make shots. You have to pick which one you want to give up; we weren't really good at either for a long stretch. We obviously didn't rebound at the level we wanted. Thanks to Lindy Waters for making some good shots and getting us through a game we had to win."
Following the game, Waters, a member of the Cherokee and Kiowa tribes, and his family honored several members of the University and the Athletic Department. It was a ceremony put on by Waters and his family, and is tradition to give back to those who have helped Waters out along the way.
Among those honored were Oklahoma State president, and First Lady Burns and Ann Hargis, athletic director Mike Holder and head coach Mike Boynton.
"It meant a lot to me and my family," said Waters. "I've been here for four years and just being in a university that will help renew my culture in certain ways. A university that just has shown me a lot of love, passion and every resource for me to be successful. It just means a lot."
With six and a half minutes left to go in the first half, Oklahoma State was up 23-10, their largest lead of the day. The Pokes were on a 10-0 run before Yale hit their first bucket since the 11-minute mark. That started a 7-0 run for the Bulldogs as they cut the Pokes' lead down to just four, 27-23 entering halftime.
It was a rather back and forth affair for the Pokes throughout the rest of the game, but it was Lindy Waters who took over when it mattered most.
The senior out of Norman, OK hit a huge three with 2:13 left to go in the second half to put the Pokes up 57-52 following two missed free throws by Yale.
He then hit another three on the Pokes' next trip down the court. In the final two minutes of the game, Waters would score eight points.
On the game, Waters finished with 19 points, a high on either team, with five rebounds and one steal.
The key to Oklahoma State's victory was obviously their defensive pressure when it mattered the most, because they struggled on the offensive end. They shot just 36 percent from the field in the first half, and were able to raise that percentage up to 43.8 percent in the second half, but they also shot just 53 percent from the free throw line and 21 percent from 3-point range.
On the defensive end, Oklahoma State forced 22 Yale turnovers, two of which came in the final minute of the game, and held the Bulldogs to just 38 percent shooting from the floor.
"It was cool," said coach Boynton on creating turnovers. "We haven't done it as much over my first two years I would've liked. It's the way we want to play defensively. The flip side of that is I think we had forced 14 turnovers in the first half, but only had 27 points. So, we weren't converting those into baskets, which is the next part of that. You have to be able to capitalize, especially the way we're designed to play with our length and athleticism and depth. You've got to turn those turnovers into points."
Oklahoma State has the week off, but will be back in action this coming Friday, Nov. 22 as they'll play host to Western Michigan. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
