Thomas Dziagwa had 11 of his 14 points in the first half as Oklahoma State won in its home state for the first time in more than a month, blowing out Southeastern Louisiana 82-31 on Sunday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys (9-3) had dropped their last two games at Gallagher-Iba Arena while also falling to Minnesota in Tulsa in their last game. All those setbacks came during a four-game span when they were without sophomore guard Isaac Likekele, who had been out with an undisclosed illness.
Likekele had nine points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal in 19 minutes, making 4 of 5 shots. Prior to his illness he was leading the Cowboys in scoring (13.7) and assists (5.0).
Oklahoma State steadily built its lead throughout the first half, outscoring Southeastern Louisiana 34-11 over the final 12:20 to take a 47-19 advantage into the locker room. The Lions (3-9) only once made consecutive baskets, shooting 25.8 percent in the first half and 22.4 percent for the game, missing 19 of 20 3-point attempts.
The Lions got 14 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore forward Tyron Brewer, who had a career-high 30 in their previous game at Ole Miss.
Dziagwa, a senior guard, hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc to improve his season perimeter efficiency to 42.9 percent. The rest of the Cowboys were 4 of 20 from 3-point range as they shot 45 percent overall thanks to a 38-16 edge in points in the paint.
Oklahoma State will face much tougher foes when 2020 begins, opening Big 12 play on Saturday at 2019 NCAA runner-up Texas Tech and then hosting West Virginia -- which beat No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday -- on Jan. 6.
SE Louisiana fell to 0-9 this season against Division I opponents.
--Field Level Media
Southeastern Louisiana | Oklahoma State | |
Tyron Brewer 14 | Scoring | Thomas Dziagwa 14 |
Tyron Brewer 1 | Assists | Isaac Likekele 4 |
Tyron Brewer 12 | Rebounds | Cameron McGriff 9 |
Tyron Brewer 2 | Free Throws Made | Yor Anei 6 |
Tyron Brewer 3 | Steals | Chris Harris Jr. 2 |
N/A | Blocks | Yor Anei 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Southeastern Louisiana | 31 | 22.4 | 1-20 | 4-10 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
Oklahoma State | 82 | 45.0 | 8-27 | 20-25 | 16 | 49 | 3 | 8 | 11 |