Freshman guard Marshall Moses had four points and one block for the Cowboys in their 64-61 loss to Oklahoma on Monday night. OU center Longar Longar had nine points, one block and one steal for the Sooners.
NORMAN — Byron Eaton thought he’d made it.
With time running out and the Cowboys trailing the Sooners by three, Eaton took the inbounds pass and sprinted past half court in time to make one last desperate shot for overtime, only to have it bounce off the backboard and away, giving OU a 64-61 victory.
“When it left my hand, it felt good, and it was right on target,” Eaton, a junior point guard, said. “I wish it would have gone down. I thought it was good.”
Although Monday night ended in disappointment for the Cowboys (10-10, 1-5 Big 12), Eaton and sophomore guard Obi Muonelo were bright spots for Oklahoma State, combining for 43 points.
Coach Sean Sutton made the decision Sunday to give Muonelo his first start since late November, playing him over junior Terrel Harris.
Muonelo, an Edmond native, rewarded the decision with a career-high 25 points.
“I had a feeling he would play well in this game,” Sutton said. “Over the years, a lot of our best performances have come from guys from within the state.
“Those guys understand and appreciate the rivalry, and know how important it is to the people in the state. He certainly produced and played a great game for us.”
Muonelo got off to a hot start. He had nearly doubled his 8.9 point average by halftime, scoring 17 in the first. During one span of 11 minutes, Muonelo scored 12 of OSU’s 15 points, and later made a 3-point shot at the buzzer.
“Obi came in and gave us some big plays, made some big shots,” Eaton said. “Every night, one guys stands out offensively, and tonight it was Obi. He was playing great.”
In the second half, Muonelo had a harder time hitting his stride. OU coach Jeff Caple said the Sooners (15-5, 3-2) made adjustments at halftime and guard Tony Crocker stepped up his defense on Muonelo.
“We just kind of challenged Crocker at halftime — ‘you have to do a better job,’” Caple said. “Obi kicked our butt in the first half. I think our guys did a better job on Obi in the second half, on all their guys.”
Eaton also played a solid game, scoring a season-high 18 points and committing one turnover.
Still, he said he was disappointed as the Cowboys lost their fifth straight game, all games that OSU was within four points with less than a minute left.
The Cowboys have lost 17 straight road games, 13 in conference play.
“We’re right there on track to get a win; we’re right there on track to get a big game,” Eaton said. “We just got to close games out.”
Although Muonelo and Eaton had big games in Bedlam, the other Cowboy guards failed to match their production.
Harris was held scoreless in 27 minutes after only scoring one point Saturday against Texas A&M.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with [Harris],” Sutton said. “It’s a mystery that a guy this talented and that has shown potential in the past to be a really good player, but he’s in a serious slump right now.
Freshman guard James Anderson, OSU’s leading scorer, managed only four points Monday.
“I thought OU did a tremendous job on James,” Sutton said. “He only got up eight shots, and really, I don’t think any of the eight were very good looks. James right now struggles to move without the ball, but most of that tonight had to do with their defense I thought.”
The Cowboys stay on the road Saturday, when they take on Texas Tech, a team they beat by 19 points in Gallagher-Iba Arena for their only Big 12 victory.
The game will give OSU another chance to prove it’s better than its record, Muonelo said.
“I know we’re a lot better,” Muonelo said. “I’m mad that we lost, but I’m not worried about us winning. We’re going to win. We got a lot of heart, we practice hard everyday. I know we’re gonna pull this out. I’m just ready for us to start winning.”
Loading ...
All Articles
It’s capel…