Freshman guard Isaac Likekele had a career-high 23 points and Cameron McGriff added 16 as Oklahoma State defeated host West Virginia 85-77 on Saturday afternoon at WVU Coliseum.
James Bolden had 31 points and Derek Culver added 15 points and 15 rebounds off the bench to lead the Mountaineers, who fell to 8-8 on the season and 0-4 in Big 12 play.
West Virginia trailed big for much of the game but climbed to within two at 50-48 with 11:59 left in the game. The Cowboys (8-8, 2-2) responded with a 16-7 run to take control once more, then went on a run toward the end of the game to stretch the lead back up to a dozen, but Culver and Bolden helped keep it competitive down the stretch.
The Mountaineers' long-range play doomed them as they made just 6 of 29 of their 3-point attempts; aside from Bolden, West Virginia was 2-of-20 shooting from deep. The Mountaineers won the battle of the boards 43-36, but also let the Cowboys shoot 47.1 percent from three-point range.
Reserve guard Chris Jones, a transfer from Indiana, scored 12 of his 15 points, including two 3-pointers, in the first half to lead the Cowboys to a 39-28 lead. Oklahoma State broke things open with an 18-8 run to end the first half en route to its second straight win.
McGriff and Thomas Dziagwa both had nine points at the half for the Cowboys, who shot 46 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the half. Dziagwa finished with 11 points.
Oklahoma State held West Virginia to 25 percent shooting in the first half, and just 1-of-14 shooting from long range. The Mountaineers bolstered their cause with 11-of-11 free-throw shooting in the first half and a narrow rebounding advantage. Jermaine Haley had eight at the break to lead West Virginia, and Culver added seven.
--Field Level Media
Oklahoma State | West Virginia | |
Isaac Likekele 23 | Scoring | James Bolden 31 |
Isaac Likekele 3 | Assists | Jordan McCabe 3 |
Cameron McGriff 10 | Rebounds | Derek Culver 15 |
Isaac Likekele 9 | Free Throws Made | James Bolden 7 |
Maurice Calloo 1 | Steals | Derek Culver 1 |
Yor Anei 1 | Blocks | Derek Culver 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oklahoma State | 85 | 47.4 | 8-17 | 23-31 | 10 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
West Virginia | 77 | 38.8 | 6-29 | 19-24 | 7 | 39 | 2 | 3 | 6 |