OSU slams Texas
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Sunday, March 03, 2013
3/03/13 at 7:09 AM
Related story: OSU basketball notebook: Smart steals.
STILLWATER - Markel Brown made the most of his baskets Saturday against Texas.
Exhibit A: A two-handed windmill dunk that gave No. 15 Oklahoma State its first lead.
"I've been working on it lately in practice, so I've been waiting to pull that one out," said Brown, who ranked the dunk first among his many in three seasons at OSU. " ... My teammates have been telling me to do that dunk, and when I finally got the chance, I did it."
Exhibit B: A rainbow jumper over the top corner of the backboard that resulted in a three-point play for the Cowboys' largest advantage of the 78-65 win.
"When I shot it, I didn't think it was going to go in, but I gave it a chance and it fell," Brown said. "I was kind of surprised when it went in."
Brown, whose game-high 18 points came on four field goals and nine free throws, surpassed 1,000 career points with the improbable shot as he was falling out of bounds.
Of Brown's dunk, coach Travis Ford said: "It was hard for me to see, but nothing surprises me with him. ... There's not too many more athletic guys out there."
Despite almost six minutes without a field goal, the Cowboys were able to erase an early 15-7 deficit. When Kirby Gardner stole a Myck Kabongo pass, he dished ahead to Brown for the slam and the 23-22 lead that awakened the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd.
"It gave us a lot of momentum," Brown said. "The guys picked up the defensive intensity and the dunk got them fired up."
OSU (22-6, 12-4 Big 12) scored eight straight points to end the first half, and the run extended to 18-2 after halftime.
"That was probably the difference in the game from that point," Ford said.
Brian Williams provided a spark off the bench early in the second half, putting the game further out of reach with all of his team's points in a 9-2 burst. And with less than eight minutes left, the Cowboys were up 65-46 after Brown's three-point play.
But because of Texas' 22-point comeback win against Oklahoma on Wednesday, OSU knew no lead was safe.
"It was in the back of I think everybody's mind a little bit," Ford said. "I've studied that game twice on how did they get back in that game because I figured we could be right back in that situation. We had our guys watch it, too."
Javan Felix tried to will the Longhorns (13-16, 5-11) back into the contest with two 3-pointers in a row, but they couldn't get any closer than 13 points.
In Ford's mind, OSU had its best defensive performance of late. The emphasis was on minimizing the role of Kabongo, who didn't play in the first meeting but averaged 18.6 points in the five games since returning from suspension.
"They're a different team with Kabongo," Ford said. " ... We've talked so much about Kabongo, I had to reiterate before the game to our players, 'You've got to understand they have other really, really good players.'"
Kabongo finished with seven points on 2-of-7 shooting. Felix and Julien Lewis combined for 28 points.
The Cowboys picked up a 10th win in 11 games and swept Texas in the regular season for the first time since 2004. Four players scored in double figures.
"They're a good team," Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said. "They went through a period there where they won some close games, which gave them the right amount of confidence and momentum."
Men's basketball
Up next
At Iowa State
6 p.m. Wednesday
TV: ESPNU-253
Radio: KFAQ am1170
Original Print Headline: Brown and Cowboys slam Texas
Kelly Hines 918-581-8452
kelly.hines@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Oklahoma State guard Phil Forte moves past Texas guard Jevan Felix after Forte made a 3-pointer during Saturday's game. KT KING/For the Tulsa World
Oklahoma State forward Le'Bryan Nash shoots over Texas defender Ioannis Papapetrou during Saturday's game in Stillwater. KT KING/For the Tulsa World
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