© Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Cowboy Seniors Pick up First Career Win in Austin With 81-59 Win Over Texas
For the first time in their careers, this group of Oklahoma State seniors have won in Austin, TX. It was a dominating performance from start to finish as the Cowboys beat Texas 81-59.
This win also makes this group of seniors special in that they join Jeffrey Carroll and Mitchell Solomon as the only group of seniors to win at every Big 12 venue. The last group to do so before 2018 was the trio of Bob Mattick, Tom Fuller and Dale Roark in 1954.
After starting 0-8 in Big 12 play, the Cowboys have now won seven of their last 10 games and move to 17-14 overall on the season and 7-11 in Big 12 play.
“One of our best games of the year,” head coach Mike Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “We competed really well; we had a pretty solid game plan we felt like, and all the credit [to our guys] for going out and executing and playing aggressive from start to finish. I think our defense led the way, but our offense was pretty crisp as well.”
It was the senior duo of Cameron McGriff and Thomas Dziagwa who led the way for the Pokes. They each tallied 19 points apiece, McGriff on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. As for Dziagwa, he was perfect on the day with 7-of-7 shooting from the field, 5-of-5 from 3-point range.
“[Dziagwa] felt good today, his teammates did a good job of screening for him and he did a good job of running and getting himself ready,” Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “I wish he’d stop dribbling, because that usually doesn’t result in any positive activity for our team, but I like it when it shoots it; it goes in a lot.”
Sophomore point guard Isaac Likekele was also electric today as he posted another double-double, his second this season and third of his career. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, all from the defensive end, five assists and two steals.
“There’s no question, [Likekele’s] got a lot of downhill ability in order to put pressure on the other team,” Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. “When he defensive rebounds the way he does today, it sort of takes one less pass out of the break and now he’s coming downhill like a freight train. He did a really good job of attacking, not only creating opportunities for himself, but also for his teammates.”
In all, the Cowboys would finish with four players in double-digit figures with Lindy Waters posting 11 points.
The Cowboys combined for 66% shooting from the field, their best shooting percentage on the season and an equally impressive 62% from 3-point range, also their best shooting state on the season. The 3-point percent stat that’s impressive as the Pokes have struggled this season from beyond the arc. The Pokes were also dominate on the glass as they out-rebounded the Longhorns 36-19, 31 of which came on the defensive end.
On the defensive end, the Cowboys held Texas to just 35% shooting from the field and just 17% from 3-point range.
It was a great start to the first half for the Pokes as they’d go into halftime with a 43-21 lead over Texas. With 13 minutes remaining in the half, the Cowboys led the Longhorns 20-3, a stretch that included a 16-0 run. The Cowboys also forced five UT turnovers, including four steals in the first six minutes of action. The Cowboys kept a 20-point lead at multiple times throughout the first half, including a game-high 22-points and shot lights out most if the half.
By the end of the first half, the Cowboys had forced seven UT turnovers and had out-rebounded the Longhorns 21-12.
It was senior Thomas Dziagwa that led the way in scoring for both sides with 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, 4-of-4 coming from beyond the 3-point line. But Mike Boynton and Co. also got great play out of Lindy Waters, Isaac Likekele and Cameron McGriff who combined for 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.
Oklahoma State will face Iowa State as an No. 8 seed in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament this coming Monday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. The winner of that game will face Kansas the following day at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2.
