Instacap: OSU Gets Right on the Road, Defeats Iowa State 81-60

The Cowboys got their talented freshman back and he helped lead them to a win. (No, not that freshman.)

Without Cade Cunningham for the second-straight game, the Cowboys found themselves in an early 11-2 hole. But a sluggish start gave way to an offensive explosion for the Cowboys fueled by transition buckets and a couple of freshmen with hot hands.

Behind career nights from Rondel Walker and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Oklahoma State outhustled and outran a shorthanded Iowa State team to 81-60 win. The Cowboys move to 10-4 on the season and 4-4 in Big 12 play.

It was a game of runs, mostly by the Cowboys.

Four turnovers and a three-plus minute scoring draught is not the way Mike Boynton drew up his team’s first five minutes of basketball, but the Cowboys quickly snapped out of it.

Oklahoma State used an 8-0 run to get right back into the game after its lackadaisical start and the Cowboys never looked back. They then used a 12-0 run later in the period to take control and took a 10-point lead into the break.

Each time the Cyclones threatened to make it a game, the Cowboys would rattle off a string of transition buckets. First, it was an 8-0 run early in the second and then it was another big streak down the stretch that sealed it.

It was over when…

After Iowa State pulled within eight with just over seven minutes remaining, the Cowboys blew the doors off of the Hilton Coliseum with a 12-0 run in just over three minutes to build a 77-57 lead and took the wind out of the Cyclones.

Player of the Game: Rondel Walker AND Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Both Walker and Moncrieffe turned in career highs, combining for 42 points on 29 shots.

Moncrieffe led the way with 22 points (11-of-17 shooting), 12 rebounds, a pair of assists, a steal and this wicked block.

Walker showed no signs of rust after sitting out Saturday. He poured in 20 of his own (4-of-8 from 3), two assists and three steals (and countless court burns from laying.

Stat You Should Know: Windex

The Cowboys were cleaning up the offensive glass and paying it off. OSU boasted a 13-4 advantage in offensive rebounding and a 18-4 edge in second-chance points. A streak-free shine which helped make up for the grimy 24 turnovers, the most by OSU since 2013.

Next up

The Cowboys host Arkansas on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. OSU will Remember the Ten during a ceremony at halftime in honor of the 20th anniversary of the tragic plane crash.