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| Freshman Devin Gibson scored a team-high 19 points on Wednesday night. |
STILLWATER, Okla. ? Freshman Devin Gibson led three Roadrunners in double figures with 19 points, but Terrel Harris poured in a game-high 21 to help Oklahoma State hold off UTSA, 73-61, Wednesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Gibson was 7-for-11 from the floor and added five assists, four steals and four rebounds, while juniors Travis Gabbidon and Joey Shank contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. UTSA (6-6) forced 23 turnovers ? 11 of those steals ? and converted them into 21 points, but the Cowboys (8-5) turned 14 UTSA miscues into 24 points and recorded a 37-20 edge on the glass.
"Our guys never gave up tonight," head coach Brooks Thompson, who was a two-time all-conference player at Oklahoma State in 1992-94, said. "We did not play well in the first half, but we came out with a different attitude in the second half and it showed. We forced them into 23 turnovers and took good care of the ball, but their athleticism showed on the glass and in their shooting percentage."
UTSA trailed 37-23 at the half and by as many as 18 with 13 minutes to play, but used an 8-0 run to pull to within 55-45 with 7:11 remaining. A Shank trey cut the deficit to nine with just over six minutes left, but the Cowboys responded with four straight points to push their advantage back to 13.
The Roadrunners would not go away as back-to-back layups by Gibson and a long 3-pointer from Gabbidon made it 64-59 with 1:51 remaining.
Oklahoma State held strong down the stretch, closing the game on a 9-2 run ? seven of those points coming from the free line ? as the Cowboys escaped with the 73-61 victory.
Terrel Harris led all players with 21 points, while Byron Eaton and Marcus Dove added 14 apiece. Eaton was 12-of-14 from the charity stripe as the Cowboys converted 21-of-27 as a team (77.8 percent).
The Roadrunners stay on the road to face Texas-Pan American next Tuesday, Jan. 8. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at UTPA Fieldhouse in Edinburg.