Markel Brown scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowboys to a 78-73 win over the No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday night in the nightcap of the MGM Grand Showcase in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma State vs. Colorado final score: Cowboys fend off Buffaloes, 78-73
Markel Brown and Marcus Smart combined for 41 points to push Oklahoma State to 11-1 on the season.
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The senior guard made 6-of-10 field goals and drained 11-of-13 from the free-throw line to lead the Cowboys (11-1) to their fourth straight win. Brown's backcourt mate Marcus Smart, the leading scorer for Oklahoma State on the season, added 18 points in the victory.
Oklahoma State built a 12-point lead, its largest advantage, on a three-pointer from Phil Forte with 3:06 remaining. Colorado responded with a 6-0 run to cut into the lead but never got closer than within four points the rest of the way.
Josh Scott led Colorado with 20 points and 12 rebounds in defeat. Askia Booker added 19 points, including 3-of-7 from three-point range. The Buffaloes (10-2) shot just 40.6 percent from the field and had their 10-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma State shot 52.1 percent from the field to improve to 6-2 as a top-10 team against Colorado. The Cowboys have beaten the Buffaloes in 19 of their last 26 meetings. Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools in which both teams were ranked in the top 25.
Both Oklahoma State and Colorado are off the next week for Christmas, with the Buffaloes returning home to host Georgia on Dec. 28 and the Cowboys hosting Robert Morris on Dec. 30.
New Mexico used a strong second-half run to beat Marquette 75-68 earlier Saturday night in the opener of the doubleheader at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
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