Six Cowboys scored in double figures Thursday as Oklahoma State cruised to an 84-64 win over Memphis in the first round of the Advocare Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Thomas Dziagwa paced the Cowboys (3-1) with 14 points, hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts. Michael Weathers scored 13 points as one of two reserves in double figures, while Yor Anei added 12 in just 17 minutes off the bench. Cameron McGriff chipped in an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double, Isaac Likekele netted 11 points, and Lindy Waters kicked in 10.
Tyler Harris led the Tigers (2-2) with 14 points, while Kyvon Davenport hit for 12. Jeremiah Martin and Kareem Brewton each scored 10 points, but Memphis converted just 36.4 percent of its field-goal attempts.
In sharp contrast, Oklahoma State sank 57.1 percent of its field-goal tries and was an effective 8 of 21 from the 3-point arc. The Cowboys also outrebounded the Tigers 40-30, building leads as large as 22 points in the final two minutes.
Despite committing 21 turnovers, Oklahoma State led by double figures for all but 12 seconds of the second half. The Cowboys will get a crack at Villanova, which routed Canisius to open the tournament, in a Friday morning semifinal. Memphis will oppose Canisius in the consolation bracket.
Memphis stood toe to toe with Oklahoma State for about the first 14 minutes. The Cowboys owned an 18-12 lead after two free throws by Weathers with 11:42 left in the half, but the Tigers rallied and tied it at 24 when Davenport jammed in transition at the 6:21 mark.
At that point, things began falling apart for Memphis. Oklahoma State quickly rattled off a 9-2 run, establishing a 33-26 advantage as Weathers converted a transition layup. The Tigers got back within four, but Mike Cunningham drilled consecutive 3-pointers in a 28-second span, giving the Cowboys a 41-31 halftime advantage.
Oklahoma State canned nearly 56 percent of its field-goal tries in the first half while converting eight Memphis turnovers into 11 points.
--Field Level Media
Oklahoma State | Memphis | |
Thomas Dziagwa 14 | Scoring | Tyler Harris 14 |
Lindy Waters III 4 | Assists | Jeremiah Martin 5 |
Cameron McGriff 12 | Rebounds | Antwann Jones 6 |
Lindy Waters III 8 | Free Throws Made | Jeremiah Martin 3 |
Mike Cunningham 2 | Steals | Raynere Thornton 4 |
Yor Anei 6 | Blocks | N/A |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oklahoma State | 84 | 57.1 | 8-21 | 20-26 | 14 | 39 | 10 | 9 | 21 |
Memphis | 64 | 36.4 | 5-17 | 11-19 | 13 | 23 | 0 | 12 | 15 |