RECAP: OSU Cruises Past Campbell 102-65

For the second game in a row, the Cowboys have scored over 100 points in their victory. It wasn’t as easy as the game against Pitt State though, as the Campbell Camels (0-1) played the Cowboys (1-0) tough through the first 12 minutes of the game, and they last led 30-29 at the 07:42 mark of the 1st half.

After that though, Underwood lit the fire underneath the Cowboys, and it was all OSU the rest of the way. In the last seven minutes and change, the Cowboys turned the tides, and went into halftime leading 52-37.

In the second half, the Camels got the lead back to single digits, cutting the score to 62-53 Cowboys at the 14:42 mark. This is where the Cowboy defense that Brad Underwood worked so hard on this offseason took over. This would be the last Campbell field goal for more than 12(!!) minutes.

They didn’t make another field goal until a layup with 02:31 left in the game. The Cowboys, however, did not go on a field goal drought, scoring 35 points and jumping out to a huge 97-60 lead (Campbell scored nine points off free throws during their 12+ minute drought). The Cowboys finished with a final score of 102-65, inching Coach Underwood closer to 100 career wins.

The Cowboys were led by sophomore guard Jawun Evans, who produced an impressive 34 points on 61.1% shooting, 2-2 from 3 point land, 10-11 free throws, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 steals in 27 minutes of floor time. Evans scored 26 in the first half, but had reduced minutes in the second half due to the lead the Cowboys compiled. Evans missed his first three shots, so he finished the game 11-15 or 73.3% shooting.

Phil Forte looked a bit off tonight, but still put up 22 points on 46.7% shooting, including 2-9 from deep and 6-6 on free throws. Jeffery Carroll also chipped in 22 points on 60% shooting, 1-2 from outside, and was 3-6 from the charity stripe. Carroll fell one rebound shy of a double double.

The Camels were led by Chris Clemons, who posted 16 points on 5-18 shooting (27.8%), but was 4-8 from beyond the arc. Combine that with five rebounds and two assists, and the sophomore guard had himself a good night.

In the quick hits, one thing I wanted to see was OSU win the turnover battle. I challenged Brad Underwood to keep his team under 10 turnovers. That didn’t happen, as the Cowboys had 15 turnovers, but they did win the turnover battle 23-15. The two teams were very close in hustle stats, but OSU edged the Camels in every category.

An interesting stat to me is the Cowboys had 89 possessions tonight. Doing a little bit of math, that averages out to 1.146 points per possession.

One of the questions about this OSU team is who is going to man the forwards and grind it out inside? Tonight, that question didn’t seem to matter. The Pokes had 48 points in the paint, as well as 13 second chance points, even though Leyton Hammonds, the starting PF, didn’t score, and Mitchell Solomon, the starting center, scored one point before fouling out. While Brad Underwood can get away with this in the non-conference games, once we get to conference play, this could be a major problem.

This was a good win for Oklahoma State, despite the slow start and letting the Camels hang around. Oklahoma State has had a lot of success in their season openers.

They are even better when they open at home.

While it is true the Cowboys won by more than that against the Gorillas, exhibition games are not considered official, which makes the previous tweet true.

Looking ahead, the Cowboys have the weekend off before welcoming the Central Arkansas Bears to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Monday, with another 7:00 p.m. tip off time.