Instacap: Oklahoma State Defeats Wichita State 89-79 in Opening Round of NIT

BOXSCORE

The Cowboys aren’t done yet.

Oklahoma State defeated Wichita State 89-79 in the opening round of the NIT.

There’s always a question as to how engaged teams might show up in the lesser postseason tournament, but there was little question about effort once the ball was tipped inside GIA on Tuesday. Players on both sides were defending, diving for loose balls and no on seemed ready to see their seasons end.

One player who didn’t appear ready for his career to end was Bryce Thompson.

Thompson came out firing on all cylinders in what he knew could be his final game as a Cowboy. He knocked down his first five shots, scoring OSU’s first 10 points — while the rest of the Cowboys started 0-for-5 — before Brandon Newman’s 3 pulled OSU within 16-13 and started a 10-0 run which saw OSU take the 20-16 lead midway through the first.

The Cowboys put together another 10-0 run, extending a 20-2 run that saw them build a 30-18 lead. The Shockers were able to pull back within five by the halftime. OSU went cold, not making a field goal for the final 4:40 of the half but took a 40-35 lead into the break.

For as hot as the Cowboys were at times in the first half, they went ice cold not making a bucket for eight and a half minutes. After leading by as many as 15 in the first half, the Cowboys lost the lead two minutes into the second half. OSU missed 11 straight field-goal attempts from the 4:09 mark of the first half to the 16:09 mark of the second when a newly returned Abou Ousmane made his second bucket to tie it up at 44.

Then the Cowboys snapped back into life with a 10-2 run that directly followed a resurgence in defensive pressure. The Cowboys kept piling it on, extending that to a 15-2 run to go up 67-54 midway through the second. The Shockers battled back to get it back within single digits briefly, but the Cowboys were able to keep them at bay.

Five Cowboys scored in double digits, led by their outgoing star.

Thompson finished with 23 points, just two shy of his career high, after scoring 19 points in 19 first-half minutes. He finished 8-for-17 from the field, grabbed four boards and had five steals.

THIS IS WHAT WE DO

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— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 19, 2025

Ousmane picked up his second foul with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. It followed a chippy frustration foul he picked up on the previous trip down the court and continued a trend of OSU’s big man getting into foul trouble. That resulted in just two points in six minutes for the Pokes’ best post player. He bounced back in the second half, finishing with 13 points and five boards and just three total fouls in 21 minutes.

Jamyron Keller came in shooting just 29.5% from 3, but he made all four of his deep shots. He scored 12 on just six shots. Khalil Brantley came in shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc, and he went 2-for-3 and scored a dozen himself. Brantley also had five boards and four assists to just one turnover.

SMOOTH from @KhalilBrantley

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— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 19, 2025

Newman also scored 10 but did most of his damage at the line, going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds. That tied a career-high and was his most as a Cowboy.

Arturo Dean locked down Wichita State’s Bijan Cortes, holding the senior to just two points on 1-of-12 shooting. Cortes had nine assists and committed four turnovers. The former Sooner and Kingfisher native scored 20 and 19 in two games in the AAC tournament. For his part, Dean scored eight and had two rebounds, two assists and two steals to just one giveaway.

OSU held a 46-42 advantage on glass and had two more offensive boards which led to seven more second-chance points. The Cowboys were hitting on their deep balls, which helped. They shot 43% from 3 while shooting 44% from the field in general. They held Wichita State to 41% shooting and 30% from 3.

With the win the Cowboys move to 16-17. They will await the winner of Wednesday night’s matchup between SMU and UNI. If the Mustangs win, the Cowboys will travel to Dallas. If UNI gets the upset, the next round will be played in Stillwater.