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Kendall Smith Leads Pokes Down the Stretch, Validating Mike Boynton’s Confidence in Him

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Mike Boynton knew what he was getting when he enticed Kendall Smith, the Cal State-Northridge point guard, to come to Oklahoma State. A seasoned veteran, a shoot-first floor general, but a proven scorer and, most importantly, someone who could calm the the wake left from Jawun Evans’ departure.

While the season hasn’t gone exactly as anyone scripted, or hoped — and after an apparent adjustment period at the start of Big 12 play — Kendall Smith has rounded into form. He has, at times, been the Cowboys’ best player.

Since regaining his starting job and subsequently shushing the Phog Allen Faithful, Smith has been on a scoring tear, averaging 19.5 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and hitting 52 percent of his 3s.

In fact, during Big 12 play Smith is shooting lights out from deep, ranking third in the league with a 46.5-percent mark in 15 games.

He went just 1 for 3 on an icy Wednesday night, but with the Cowboys reeling from two-straight losses and on a three-game home losing streak, he did everything else for OSU. If not for a perfect shooting game from sophomore Lindy Waters, little argument could be made that Smith was OSU’s best player, once again.

Smith got the Cowboys going early, making four of his first five shots and dishing out four assists in the first 10 minutes of play. While Jeffrey Carroll and Waters took up the slack during the Cowboys early second half surge, the veteran PG stuck the landing, scoring 12 in the final frame.

“As a point guard, it’s my job to step up in close games,” Smith said after knocking down 7 of 8 clutch free throws in the last minute and a half to put the Red Raiders to bed.

“His experience in these situations is a big part of the reason you want to have an experienced point guard,” said Boynton. “I feel confident when he has the ball in his hands that if he gets fouled he’s going to make them, but also, if he doesn’t get fouled, he’s going to take care of the basketball well and get it to the right people. When he has the chance to score he can do that as well.”

To Boynton’s point, Smith dished out six assists to just one turnover while calmly, yet violently attacking one of the best half-court defenses in the country. The Cowboys turned 17 Tech turnovers into 17 points and outscored the Raiders in fast-break points 20-2. Credit Smith for pushing the tempo and keeping Chris Beard’s squad on its heels.

“We have a good half-court defense,” said Chris Beard. “We take a lot of pride in it. But tonight, there was a lot of possessions where we couldn’t even get set because they were running the floor and getting quick threes on us.”

Kendall Smith is not Jawun Evans, he was never going to fit that Chris Paul archetype. And he may not even be an all-conference player — though he’s certainly making a case down the stretch. But he’s proven time and time again that he can show up in big moments and in big games.

With just three shots left to prove this team is worthy of an invite to the Big Dance, let’s see what else Smith’s got.

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