Recap: Oklahoma State Tops Eastern Washington 71-60, Moves on to NIT Quarterfinals

Things go a lot smoother when your shots are falling. The Cowboys enjoyed their best shooting game in over a month, and it helped them gain their first double-digit win in even longer.

Top-seed Oklahoma State defeated Eastern Washington 71-60 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys move on to the quarterfinals, matching their deepest NIT run in 13th tries.

The Cowboys attacked the Eagles in the paint early which led to opportunities on the perimeter.

Tyreek Smith continues to be a force down low. After leading the Cowboys in scoring with 13 and logging his first career double-double against Youngstown State, Smith added another with 11 points and 10 boards. He had two and-one opportunities before the first media timeout and scored seven of the Cowboys’ first 10.

Despite the Cowboys’ impressive outing from the field, both teams came out shooting blanks to start. The Cowboys started just 1-for-7 from the field but then answered with a 10-1 run. Eastern Washington, which came in ranked seventh nationally shooting 49.3% from the field, started just 2-for-10 from the field and 1-of-8 from 3 before the Eagles got going. They ended the first half making 9-of-20 shots.

The streaky Cowboys quickly caught fire from beyond the arc thanks in large part to Bryce Thompson who started 3-for-4 from 3 as part of a 6-for-11 opening period. OSU finished with its third-best 3-pointing outing of the season at 46%. The Cowboys shot 48% from the field. Both of those marks were the best since a Valentine’s Day loss to Kansas.

The Cowboys ended the half on a 20-12 run, making four of their last five shots, to build their biggest lead at 39-30. They took some momentum into the break with a play that spanned the court and ended in a 3-pointer in just 5.3 seconds.

Thompson used a head fake to gain a sliver of space at the top of the arc squared up and knocked down his fourth 3 and keep the streak going in the second. He would lead all scorers with 22 points including going 6-for-11 from deep.

Not to be left out, John-Michael Wright caught fire in the second half, making 2-of-3 from deep as part of his 11 points on the day.

OSU started the second half on a 6-0 run to build their largest lead at 45-30, but a string of OSU turnovers helped the Eagles answer with their own 7-0 run.

But the Cowboys’ mismatch in the paint, partnered with some uncharacteristic efficient shooting, was too much for the Eagles to claw through.

With the win, Oklahoma State moves on to the NIT quarterfinals. The Cowboys will host the winner of North Texas and Sam Houston. That game tips at 3 p.m. Sunday.