Abou Ousmane hit his first six shots and scored a game-high 27 points to lead Oklahoma State to a 79-66 win against Kansas State in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday.
The Cowboys closed the first half on a 20-2 run to break open what was a tight game.
Marchelus Avery scored 13 points and Bryce Thompson added 10 points for the Cowboys (9-5, 1-2 Big 12).
Coleman Hawkins led Kansas State (7-7, 1-2) with 18 points, David N’Guessan had 12 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Max Jones chipped in 10 points.
Ousmane’s sixth 3-pointer of the season was his sixth straight make to start the game and gave the Cowboys a 28-22 lead with 4:32 left in the first half. Oklahoma State connected on 4-of-9 treys in the half and scored 16 points off 11 turnovers by the Wildcats. The Cowboys had only four turnovers in the half.
Oklahoma State began to pull away from the Wildcats when Avery backed into a hook shot in the lane as the Cowboys took a 34-24 lead with 2:20 left in the first half.
It was the first time the Cowboys went up double digits and came in the early stages of the decisive burst.
After Brandon Newman made the second of two free throws with one second left in the first half, Hawkins launched an inbounds pass toward half court. Khalil Brantley stepped in front of it for a steal and with one dribble sank a free-throw line jumper as the Cowboys took a 43-24 halftime lead.
The visitors tried to muster an answer in the second half. Hawkins’ steal and break away jam cut the Oklahoma State lead to 52-41 to cap the Wildcats’ 11-2 run.
But Thompson and Brandon Newman sandwiched made 3-pointers around a turnover by the Wildcats as Oklahoma State pushed its lead to 58-41.
Kansas State had a 7-0 surge to close to 70-58 on N’Guessan’s inside bucket with 4:05 left in the game. A full-court press helped pull the Wildcats within 75-64 with just under three minutes left, the closest they would get.
Kansas State never led and the game was tied only twice.
–Field Level Media
