Instacap: Cowboys Fall 109-89 to No. 7 Oklahoma in Bedlam

The short-handed Cowboys couldn’t keep up with the Sooners even on a rough shooting night from OU’s point guard and the nation’s leading scorer, Trae Young.

Oklahoma State fell to Oklahoma 109-89 inside the Lloyd Noble Center to move to 10-4 and 0-2 in conference play. Oklahoma moves to 12-1 (2-0 in Big 12).

After both teams traded 10-0 runs early, the Sooners threatened to run away and hide, going up as much as 12 midway through the first half. But with OU’s star point guard on the bench, Oklahoma State went on a run fueled by Thomas Dziagwa 3s to pull within 6.

The Cowboys made a point to pressure the freshman point guard early and it worked. Young started 1-for-5 from the field and missed his first three 3-point attempts.

At the half, Young was 2 of 8 from the field and 0 for 3 from the 3-point line. But the phenom PG got things going in the second half and ended one rebound shy of his first career triple-double, with 25 points (on 17 shots), 10 assists and nine rebounds.

Tavarius Shine was the best player for Oklahoma State during his time on the court. The senior wing started hot, making his first four shots including two 3-pointers. He was the Cowboys’ leading scorer with 16 points when he fouled out at the 13-minute mark of the second half.

The Cowboys were led by Thomas Dziagwa who scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, going 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. The sophomore started 5-of-6 from 3. Jeffrey Carroll chipped in 15 points (5 of 14, 2 of 9 from 3) and Brandon Averette scored all 13 of his points after halftime, making the fourth Cowboy to reach double digits.

On an off shooting night for Trae Young, fellow in-state freshman Brady Manek lit up the Cowboys for a career-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting and went 6-for-8 from 3. The Cowboys, who were already short-handed with the dismissal of Davon Dillard and Zack Dawson, missed starter Lindy Waters, the Bedlam hero from last year who is in concussion protocol.

Next up, the Cowboys welcome Iowa State to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Saturday January 6.