No. 9 Oklahoma State 70, Louisiana Tech 55: Le’Bryan Nash scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and added 10 rebounds as the Cowboys held off the visiting Bulldogs in the All-College Classic at Oklahoma City.
Marcus Smart and Markel Brown scored 13 points apiece for Oklahoma State (9-1). Kamari Murphy contributed 10 points off the bench as the Cowboys leaned on their defense to pick up a second straight victory.
Chris Anderson collected 14 points and eight rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech (8-3), which was held to a season-low point total and field-goal percentage (32.8). Alex Hamilton also scored 12 points as the only other player to reach double figures.
The Bulldogs shot just 6-of-30 from the field in the first half and Oklahoma State took advantage, sprinting out to a 31-18 lead at intermission. Louisiana Tech found a rhythm out of the break and dropped the deficit to single digits at 41-32 on Hamilton’s three-point play just under five minutes into the period.
The Bulldogs would get as close as 49-42 on Kenneth Smith’s layup with 8:44 to play before the Cowboys put their foot on the gas. Nash scored five points and Smart had six during a 13-2 run that put Oklahoma State in control for good.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisiana Tech leading scorer Raheem Appleby was held to nine points on 4-of-16 shooting, snapping a string of six straight games in double figures. … Smart has failed to reach 20 points in four straight games after going for at least 25 in each of the previous three. … Cowboys G Phil Forte came in averaging 13 points but went scoreless while attempting only one field goal.
Louisiana Tech | Oklahoma St. | |
Chris Anderson 14 | Scoring | Le'Bryan Nash 22 |
Kenneth Smith 3 | Assists | Marcus Smart 5 |
Chris Anderson 8 | Rebounds | Le'Bryan Nash 10 |
Chris Anderson 2 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Smart 7 |
Raheem Appleby 2 | Steals | Marcus Smart 4 |
Michale Kyser 5 | Blocks | Michael Cobbins 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Louisiana Tech | 55 | 32.8 | 6-26 | 7-13 | 6 | 35 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
Oklahoma St. | 70 | 43.3 | 2-12 | 16-22 | 13 | 35 | 8 | 9 | 12 |