Saturday, November 21, 1998
Cowboys
have their way
No. 13 OSU wins championship;
By Paul Arnett
Hawaii is held to fewer than
40 points for the first time
in 16 years
Star-BulletinOklahoma State head basketball coach Eddie Sutton doesn't have any drugstore cowboys dotting his lineup.
This hard-nosed, jutting-jaw outfit is filled with real-deal players who understand that the best way to win is to keep the other team from scoring.
Granted, No. 13 Oklahoma State didn't pitch a shutout in last night's 58-37 victory over Hawaii in the championship of the VoiceStream Wireless Challenge.
But the Cowboys threw a net over the Rainbows in the second half, limiting them to a meager 15 points to run their season record to 3-0.
"We played excellent defense and played with a lot more patience offensively," Sutton said of the stellar performance. "We were able to shut them down in the second half and use the 45-second clock to our advantage.
"If you get ahead, you can just run down the clock and take your opponent and the crowd completely out of the game. I think it frustrated them because we had an answer for everything they tried to do offensively."
Hawaii kept it close in the first half and cut Oklahoma State's advantage to 27-24 with 19:28 remaining. But the Cowboys put together a 21-2 run over the next 10 minutes to put the game well out of reach.
Brian Montonati came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 11 rebounds for the Cowboys, who held the Rainbows to 6-for-25 shooting in the second half."They aren't pretty, but their defense is as effective as any we've seen in the last few years," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "They were better than Indiana or Kansas last year.
"The only team we might face this year that will play a defensive style similar to that is Utah. They just get right in your face and overplay you. We had some backdoor cuts. We just didn't execute them. We weren't playing aggressively enough to make that pass."
By the end of the game, the Rainbows weren't playing at all. Their offense in shambles, the final 10 minutes were filled with lazy passes and ill-advised one-on-one sessions down low.
Hawaii didn't have anyone in double digits as the Rainbows were held to fewer than 40 points for the first time in 16 years.
Marquette Alexander, who looked like a quality Division I athlete in Hawaii's 62-44 victory over Nicholls State on Thursday, resembled a junior college transfer not ready for the bright lights of the top 25 against Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys held him to only six points and six rebounds. Erin Galloway was the leading scorer for the Rainbows with nine points. Fellow senior Mike Robinson added eight points and five boards.
"I don't want to hear any of that talk about growing pains," Robinson said. "That sounds like an excuse and we don't have one. They just flat kicked our butts."
Oklahoma State's Adrian Peterson was named the tournament's most valuable player. Alexander was named to the All-Tournament team for Hawaii along with the Cowboys' Desmond Mason and Doug Gottlieb and Mike Bergen of Marquette.
Marquette 51, Nicholls St. 48: John Cliff hit a 3-pointer, his first points of the game, with 45 seconds left to lift Marquette over Nicholls State in the consolation game.
Cliff, whose basket broke a 47-47 tie, then made a clutch play on the defensive as he was fouled grabbing a rebound.
He made one of two free throws to give the Golden Eagles a four-point lead with 19.5 seconds left. But Cliff nearly gave the points back when he fouled Linzie Green on a 3-point attempt with 9.4 seconds left.
Green converted only one free throw, but the Colonels got another try when they forced a jump ball on the rebound 4.8 seconds left.
Green missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired.
VoiceStream Wireless Classic
At Stan Sheriff Center
Cowboys (3-0 overall)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Peterson 34 4 13 4 4 4 3 12 Mason 37 6 11 0 0 6 0 13 Adkins 26 2 8 2 2 3 2 8 Gottlieb 39 3 5 1 3 1 0 7 Webber 16 0 0 0 2 2 4 0 Jonzen 9 1 2 0 0 2 2 2 Montonati 26 6 10 2 2 11 3 14 Gilmore 6 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 Robisch 7 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 Team 1 Totals 200 23 50 9 14 31 17 58Rainbows (1-2 overall)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Galloway 36 4 7 1 3 5 2 9 M. Robinson 23 3 12 2 2 5 2 8 White 37 0 3 0 2 0 3 0 Cartwright 35 4 8 0 0 5 1 8 G. Robinson 16 1 5 0 0 2 0 2 McIntyre 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 Lee 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 Czernin 21 2 5 0 1 3 2 4 Alexander 21 3 7 0 1 6 1 6 Team 3 Totals 200 17 48 3 9 30 14 37Halftime score--Oklahoma State 27, PHawaii 22.3-point goals--Oklahoma State 3-11 (Adkins 2-5, Mason 1-4, Peterson 0-1, Gottlieb 0-1), UH 0-6 (Cartwright 0-3, White 0-1, G. Robinson 0-1, McIntyre 0-1)).
Assists--Oklahoma State 14 (Gottlieb 7), UH 8 (Galloway 3, White 3). Turnovers--Oklahoma State 8
(Peterson 2), UH 16 (Alexander 4). Steals--Oklahoma State 8 (Mason 3), UH 3 (Galloway 1, M. Robinson 1, White 1). Blocked shots--Oklahoma State 3 (Peterson 1, Mason 1, Robisch 1), UH 3 (Galloway 1, M. Robinson 1, White 1).
Technicals--None.
A--7,816. Officials: McKendry, Shortnacy, Fuentes.
Golden Eagles (3-1 overall)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp Bargen 24 3 6 3 4 2 5 10 Miller 26 0 1 0 0 5 2 0 Polonowski 13 2 6 0 0 0 0 4 Nnamaka 22 2 3 2 4 2 3 7 Lovette 34 6 9 2 3 2 2 15 Cliff 17 1 5 1 2 3 2 4 Henry 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Duffy 13 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 Wardle 31 2 7 4 6 5 1 9 Harris 15 0 3 0 0 4 2 0 Clausen 4 1 1 0 0 4 0 2 Team 7 Totals 200 17 43 12 19 37 18 51Colonels (1-3 overall)
mp fgm fga ftm fta reb pf tp McCutcheon, J. 33 4 13 0 0 3 2 8 McCutcheon, T 34 1 3 1 2 3 0 3 Green 30 5 14 8 9 2 0 18 Blake 25 2 7 0 0 6 4 4 Wright 25 2 6 0 1 4 3 4 Howard 22 2 8 0 0 3 2 5 Worrell 12 2 4 2 3 3 4 6 Beaudean 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 Marie 10 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 Williams 7 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 Team 3 Totals 200 18 59 11 15 32 17 48Halftime score--Marquette 26, Nicholls State 263-point goals--Marquette 5-15: Bargen 1-3, Polonowski 0-1, Nnamaka 1-2, Lovette 1-1, Cliff 1-4, Duffy 0-1, Wardle 1-3. Nicholls State 1-14: J. McCutceon 0-1, T. McCutcheon 0-2, Green 0-4, Blake 0-1, Howartd 1-6.
Assists--Marquette 12 (Miler 5); Nicholls State 5 (T. McCutcheon 2. Turnovers--Marquette 23, Nicholls State 13. Steals--Marquette 5, Nicholls State 15. Blocked shots--Marquette 5, Nicholls State 3. Technicals--None.
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