RECAP: Cowboys Coast to Victory 117-72

This game is what I needed after Monday’s game against the Central Arkansas Bears. A good, old fashioned butt-kicking. It was all Cowboys from start to finish, and a good game for the Fighting Underwood’s to play prior to heading to paradise.

Brad Underwood led his Cowboys (3-0, 3-0 Home) to a dominating and convincing win over his second former conference foe, the New Orleans Privateers (1-1, 0-1 Away), this week.

The Cowboys jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and never looked back. The first half was highlighted by a 22-4 OSU run that took the score from 20-10 to 42-14 in less than five minutes. When the dust settled and the two teams headed to their respective locker rooms, the scoreboard read 68-36 in favor of the home team. Tonight, the Cowboys broke a first half record.

To put this in perspective, we turn to the Tulsa World’s Mark Cooper.

While the scoring pace slowed up, the lead still kept growing for the Cowboys in the second half. The Pokes steadily kept scoring, and there was little the Privateers could do to stop them. At the 7:56 mark, the Cowboys broke the century mark to keep their streak alive. The second half was highlighted by a 10-0 run by the Cowboys starting at the five minute mark to push the lead to 115-67, which was a game high 48 point differential.

This was the shot - made by Tyler Underwood - that put the Cowboys into triple digits, though I’m not sure if it belongs on Sportscenter Top 10 or Not Top 10.

Yup. It was just one of those nights tonight. I’m sure the young fella will be hearing it from pops later tonight when they get home.

Leyton Hammonds led the Cowboys with 15 points on 6-15 shooting from the floor, including a three pointer and 2-2 from the free throw line. Pair that with 13 rebounds, and Hammonds has his second double-double in as many games.

Jeffrey Carroll put in 14 points while coming off the bench on 4-6 shooting, and hitting 6-7 from the charity stripe. Add in four rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block in 15 minutes, and Carroll had a good night.

The pleasant surprise of the night came from freshman Lucas N’Guessan. In 14 minutes, the 7’0 big man scored 11 points, shooting a perfect 3-3 from the field, along with 5-6 from the line. Combine that with 6 rebounds, a block, and a steal, and I’d guess N’Guessan has earned himself some more playing time, especially with the Cowboy’s weaknesses at the 4 and 5.

The Cowboys were not afraid to share the love tonight.

The Cowboys had six players in double figures, and Coach Brad Underwood made sure to voice his pleasure after the game.

"The 22 assists and ten turnovers, we shared the ball. We took the opportunities that we knew were there. I loved the pace and the tempo was very good. This team can get going in making shots in a hurry."

For the Privateers, Erik Thomas had 18 points to lead all scorers, along with 8-12 free throws, five rebounds, two assists, and a block in 27 minutes off the bench. Jorge Rosa had 14 points on 5-7 shooting, including 3-4 from deep and a free throw. Rosa added to his stat line by collecting two rebounds and a steal.

In our preview, Dustin and I were looking for the Cowboys to protect the paint. We knew the Privateers were not a 3 point shooting team, and their game plan was pretty obvious. Pound it inside and get to the line. New Orleans got 34 of their 72 points in the paint, which doesn’t sound that bad, but interior D may be something Coach Underwood wants to work at practice before departing for Maui. We also wanted the Cowboys to limit the fouls. The Cowboys average 26.3 fouls, and they didn’t help that average much tonight, getting whistled 24 times.

As you would expect, the Cowboys dominated in pretty much every statistic tonight, but here’s how the hustle stats broke down.

Up next, the Cowboys put their undefeated record on the line when they face the 0-2 UConn Huskies in the Maui Invitational, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. CST on November 21st. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU, and will come live from the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii. Aloha!