Recap: Oklahoma State 78, Colorado 73
LAS VEGAS - While Marcus Smart gets all the national attention for Oklahoma State, Markel Brown is starting to get accolades.
Brown scored 23 points and had 11 rebounds to lead No. 7 Oklahoma State over No. 20 Colorado 78-73 at the MGM Grand Showcase benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer on Saturday night.
Advertisement
''I finally got over the hump,'' Brown said of earning his first double-double this season. ''I've been at seven or eight rebounds earlier this season. This was a big rebounding game. We settled for a couple of jump shots. We just need to get to the basket. We wanted to get their bigs into foul trouble. We wanted to get to the rim and get high-percentage shots.''
Smart had 18 points, Phil Forte added 16 - making 4 of 7 from 3-point range - and Oklahoma State (11-1) shot 52 percent from the field overall and 62 percent in the second half.
''We asked our guards to rebound,'' said Cowboys coach Travis Ford, whose team was outrebounded 41-30. ''Our bigs had their hands full. We were our worst enemy in the first half. We have to get the ball to the right people in the right places. We did that in the second half.''
Le'Bryan Nash had 15 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots as the Cowboys' win snapped Colorado's 10-game winning streak. Brown scored 11 points from the free-throw line to lift Oklahoma State to its fourth straight win.
''Our fast break kept us in it in the second half,'' Ford said.
Josh Scott led Colorado (10-2) with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals. Askia Booker scored 19 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 18.
''For whatever reason, we've got to figure out a way to score when we're not getting to the free-throw line. That's frustrating,'' Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. ''When you allow a team to shoot 65 percent in the second half, it is going to be tough to beat them.''
Oklahoma State built its lead to 63-53 with 7:36 remaining. Colorado chipped away and brought the deficit down to four points twice in the final minute, but couldn't get any closer.
Booker had 13 first-half points for Colorado, which trailed 32-26 at halftime. The Cowboys took the lead for good with 1:37 left in the opening half.
''They shot 62 percent in the second half and we did not have enough to beat the No. 7 team in the nation,'' said Scott, who was 10 of 13 from the free-throw line. ''We didn't play our best game, but we were there with them. They set a lot of good screens and they have a lot of players.''
The teams last met in January 2011 with the Buffaloes winning 75-71. The last time the teams met on a neutral court was in March 2005 at the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City.
Colorado hasn't beaten a top-10 team on a neutral floor since 1990 at the Big Eight Tournament in Kansas City.
The inaugural MGM Grand Showcase also featured New Mexico's win over Marquette in Saturday's first game.
Attendance: 0
OK State (11-1)
Players
Min
FG
3P
FT
Rebounds
PF
A
TO
B
S
Pts
L. Nash
37
6-8
0-0
3-7
1
5
6
3
2
3
3
2
15
M. Brown
35
6-10
0-1
11-13
3
8
11
2
3
2
0
1
23
M. Smart
32
6-13
1-5
5-8
0
0
0
2
3
2
0
1
18
B. Williams
23
0-1
0-1
0-0
0
3
3
1
1
2
1
1
0
P. Forte
22
4-9
4-7
4-7
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
16
K. Murphy
22
2-4
0-0
0-0
1
4
5
5
0
1
1
0
4
M. Cobbins
20
1-2
0-0
0-0
0
1
1
5
1
2
1
0
2
S. Clark
9
0-1
0-1
0-0
0
1
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
C. Sager
0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
M. Soucek
0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Team Rebounds
3
Totals
Shooting Pct.
200
25-48
52.1
5-15
33.3
23-35
65.7
6
24
33
20
10
14
6
5
78
Colorado (10-2)
Players
Min
FG
3P
FT
Rebounds
PF
A
TO
B
S
Pts
A. Booker
37
8-15
3-7
0-0
1
1
2
2
1
2
0
1
19
J. Scott
35
5-8
0-0
10-13
5
7
12
3
2
1
0
3
20
S. Dinwiddie
31
6-14
2-5
4-4
0
2
2
4
3
2
0
2
18
X. Johnson
27
1-5
0-3
1-2
1
4
5
3
0
3
0
0
3
W. Gordon
22
1-4
0-0
0-0
1
5
6
3
0
3
0
1
2
J. Hopkins
14
1-3
0-1
0-1
2
1
3
5
0
0
0
0
2
T. Fletcher
13
3-8
1-4
0-0
3
1
4
2
1
1
1
1
7
X. Talton
10
1-3
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
D. Thomas
9
0-3
0-1
0-0
0
0
0
3
0
1
0
0
0
G. King
1
0-1
0-1
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
B. Mills
1
0-0
0-0
0-0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Team Rebounds
7
Totals
Shooting Pct.
200
26-64
40.6
6-22
27.3
15-20
75.0
18
23
48
26
7
14
1
8
73
Officials:
John Higgins, Rick Randall, Jeff Malham