Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
9-1
Middle Tennessee
5-5
Oklahoma State Takes Down Middle Tennessee, 68-44
December 16, 2014 | Cowboy Basketball
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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Le'Bryan Nash scored 16 points as Oklahoma State led wire-to-wire in defeating Middle Tennessee State 68-44 Tuesday night.
Michael Cobbins scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds for OSU (9-1), while Phil Forte added 12 points and five assists.
Jaqawn Raymond scored 11 points to lead Middle Tennessee (5-5), which was held to just 31.1 percent shooting (14 of 45) on the night.
Oklahoma State led by just 18-16 after Raymond sank a 3-pointer from the right side with 10:42 left in the opening half, but the Cowboys rolled on a 22-3 run over the next nine minutes to take over control of the contest.
OSU started the second half with a 40-21 lead, and continued to display more of the same dominance, maintaining at least a 19-point lead the rest of the way.
The key to that stretch was the Cowboys' suffocating defense, as they limited Middle Tennessee to just 1 of 12 shooting from the field over that span of 10:34 before Jacquez Rozier's basket with eight seconds left in the half left Oklahoma State with a 40-21 halftime lead.
The second half saw more of the same dominance from Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys maintained at least a 19-point lead for the rest of the way.
Oklahoma State used an early 11-3 run to build up a 16-8 advantage with 12:41 left in the opening half, punctuated by Anthony Allen's rim-rattling dunk off a slick pass from Forte.
Middle Tennessee responded with an 8-2 run of its own to pull back to within two, but the Cowboys answered with another surge of their own, scoring nine straight points to build up a 27-16 lead when Forte executed a pretty reverse layup with 6:20 remaining.
