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Recapping Oklahoma State Basketball’s Eventful 2-1 European Hoops Tour

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6 years ago

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Oklahoma State went 2-1 on its European trip that included one lopsided loss, a super lopsided win, and a competitive game against the Netherlands sandwiched in-between.

The three-game trip was as much about bonding — there are six new faces on the roster this year! — as it was about getting competitive play in during the month of August. Nevertheless, both were accomplished with the fortune of capturing extra practice time ahead of the start of fall classes.

“From a basketball standpoint, I’m very very pleased with the way our team grew this week,” Mike Boynton said of the trip. “We didn’t play our best [in the first game vs. Italy], but we did some things we learned from and were able to build on the last couple games.”

Let’s quickly go game-by-game to recap the trip.

Game 1: OSU 72, Italian National B Team 99

Oklahoma State went reverse order in terms of degree of difficulty for its three games, facing its most challenging opponent in the Italian National B team first. The result was a 99-72 loss. There were bright spots, however, namely a 15-point, 9-rebound outing for Cam McGriff, and the official breakout of freshman Isaac Likekele, who scored 13 points in the loss.

“No one hates losing more than I do, but on Aug. 7, we want to be learning these lessons because of the opportunities here,” Boynton said of the loss.

Game 2: OSU 61, Netherlands 49

Boynton called for his team to respond following the beatdown Italy handed his crew, and respond they did. A new starting lineup that featured Mike Cunningham, Michael Weathers, Thomas Dziagwa, Cam McGriff and Lindy Waters led OSU to a cushy 61-49 victory. Weathers led the way with 10 points after a rough opening game against Italy. Kentrevious Jones, Thomas Dziagwa and Michael Cunningham all added eight points in the win.

“We had good leadership by a few juniors,” said Boynton. “Thomas and Cam and Lindy led the charge from a defensive standpoint, then you saw another good performance from Isaac. Kentrevious had some good moments, and Duncan Demuth is really coming along. This team is starting to show what its capable of.”

Game 3: OSU 93, Greek All-Stars 49

Beat. Down.

OSU went full Golden State on the poor Greek All-Stars, handing them a 93-49 L. Every player had at least 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and five Cowboys — Likekele, Calloo, Waters, Weathers and Dziagwa — finished in double figures.

It was freshman standout Likekele who led the way with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

“Our young guys played a lot tonight in the win, and showed some good things,” OSU assistant Scott Sutton tweeted after the conclusion of the final game. “Still have a long ways to go, but excited to see the growth and improvement of our guys. OSU should be a fun group to watch this season.“

Maybe even more importantly, the videos, photos and experience that came out of this trip will be remembered for a long, long time.

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