Pokes dismantle Texas Tech 63-43

Oklahoma State needed a win and confidence boost. They got both from Texas Tech late Wednesday night.

The Pokes came out in the first half hot, quickly rising to an 8-0 lead. However, never count out a Tubby Smith coached team. The Red Raiders used a simple-yet-effective two-three zone defense that clogged up the lane and caused frustration from the arc. The Cowboys used a late surge to lead 30-25 at half but did so without Le'Bryan Nash, who had to sit after acquiring two early fouls.

Coming out of the locker room, it became all OSU. The Cowboys fired on all cylinders and used both an outside and inside game (shoutout to Michael Cobbins) and a small reemergence of Lob Stilly to rack up the points and battened down the hatches on defense to effectively bring the Raider offense to a slow crawl and give the Pokes the 63-43 victory.

OSU was led by Nash with 16 points and four boards. He was assisted by Phil Forte with 15 points and going 5/7 from three-point land. Jeff Newberry also contributed with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.

But perhaps the biggest boost came from Cobbins. Head coach Travis Ford told the senior he needed to be more aggressive,  and Cobbo took that advice to heart. He finished the night with seven points, eight rebounds, two steals and five (!!) blocks. That's one heck of a stat line.

The Cowboys improve to 13-5 and 3-3 in Big 12 play. They'll be back in action Saturday as they travel to Manhattan,  Kansas, to attempt the season sweep against the Wildcats.