Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Mercer
Cowboy Basketball Routs Mercer, 97-61
December 20, 2005 | Cowboy Basketball
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - JamesOn Curry scored a career-high 30 points as Oklahoma State ended a two-game losing streak with a 97-61 win Sunday over Mercer.
Marcus Dove added 14 points for the Cowboys (7-3), who rebounded from last week's gut-wrenching loss to No. 10 Gonzaga and an earlier upset by Northwestern State.
Will Emerson and Ross Alacqua scored 14 points to lead Mercer as the Bears (1-4) lost in the first meeting between the two teams.
Oklahoma State put Mercer away with a 9-0 run early in the second half. The Cowboys scored after three straight steals, and Curry's dunk capped the run at 54-33 with 18:02 left.
The Cowboys used a 15-5 spurt to build their biggest lead, 87-48 on Roderick Flemings' dunk with 5:57 left in the game. The freshman Flemings scored 11 points in the spurt, including nine in a row over a 1:31 span.
The Cowboys defense, which has held each opponent below its scoring average this season, forced 25 Bears turnovers. Mercer was averaging 76.2 points per game.
Mercer took only its second lead of the game, 17-15, on Andrew Brown's 3 with 12:18 left in the first half. It capped an 11-4 Bears' run that included three 3-pointers.
But the Cowboys took control immediately afterward with a 15-0 run that began on Mario Boggan's 14-foot jumper with 12:31 to go and ended with Terrel Harris' lay-up after Byron Eaton's steal, making it 30-17.
Only six 3-pointers kept Mercer close in the first half, including three by Alacqua off the bench. Oklahoma State led 43-32 at halftime.
