Oklahoma State pulls away from South Carolina State

Field Level Media|published: Sun 31st December, 17:23 2023

Nov 17, 2023; Brookyln, NY, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Boynton coaches against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during overtime at Barclays Center. credits: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma State pulled away from a tie early in the second half to subdue South Carolina State 86-70 on Sunday in Stillwater, Okla.

Bryce Thompson scored 17 points for Oklahoma State. Quion Williams added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and led the Cowboys (7-5) with 10 rebounds and three steals.

Javon Small had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Cowboys, who won their fourth straight game and will host Chicago State on Wednesday before turning to Big 12 Conference play.

Eric Dailey Jr. chipped in 11 points, all in the second half, and Brandon Garrison had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma State, which survived 23 turnovers.

Jordan Simpson paced South Carolina State with 16 points and four steals. The Bulldogs were a 24.5-point underdog and playing without leading scorer and rebounder Davion Everett (hamstring).

Drayton Jones added 12 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals as the Bulldogs (4-12) wrapped up their nonconference schedule and will begin Mid-Eastern Athletic competition by hosting Norfolk State on Saturday. The Bulldogs were coming off a big loss at Nebraska on Friday.

South Carolina State trailed by four at halftime, but layups by Jones and Simpson tied the game at 38 in the first minute of the second half.

Oklahoma State regained the lead on Thompson's 3-pointer, which launched a 19-3 run. He added a second trey and Dailey scored seven points during the run, which put the Cowboys ahead 57-41.

The Bulldogs got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Oklahoma State shot 62.1 percent in the second half and 53.6 percent for the game, while South Carolina State managed just 28.9 percent after halftime and 35.2 percent overall.

The first half saw 10 lead changes and four ties before the Cowboys went into intermission ahead 38-34.

Oklahoma State ran off 10 straight points to lead 30-21 with eight minutes to go in the first half. But South Carolina State countered with a tying 9-0 run. Simpson scored seven of those points.

Simpson led the Bulldogs with 10 points in the half, and Omar Croskey added eight.

Williams netted 10 for the Cowboys, followed by eight from Small.

—Field Level Media