Oklahoma State had their hands full with West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, but Le’Bryan Nash and the Cowboys proved to be too much down the stretch as they pulled away for a 81-75 win.
No. 11 Oklahoma State holds on against West Virginia, 81-75
Le’Bryan Nash took over the second half as the No. 11 Cowboys survived the upset scare on Saturday afternoon.
Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE
WVU trailed by seven at the half, but a hot shooting start allowed them to tie things up around the 15-minute mark. The two teams took turns exchanging blows as the tempo really picked up. There were a handful of highlight-reel worthy plays in this one, but none were more impressive than this slam by Markel Brown about halfway through the second half. The crowd at Gallagher-Iba Arena went nuts"
With 7:34 remaining, Nash went on a personal 8-0 run in a two-minute span to give the Cowboys a 68-60 lead. That would prove to be enough for OSU as they slowly ran down the clock in the closing minutes. West Virginia had a couple of chances to make things interesting, including a decent look from Nathan Adrian that would have tied the score at 75, but it clanked off the back of the rim. The Pokes hit their free throws in the final minute to put the game on ice.
The Cowboys were led by Nash's 29 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Smart really struggled, scoring just four points on 1-of-7 shooting. Eron Harris had 21 points and six boards to lead WVU, while Juwan State had 19 on 7-of-16 shooting.
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