| Senior Travis Gabbidon had 14 points and a game-high four 3-pointers on Friday night. |
STILLWATER, Okla. ? Senior Travis Gabbidon, junior Omar Johnson and sophomore Devin Gibson combined for 41 points, but Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris teamed up for 47 to lead Oklahoma State past UTSA, 76-57, in the season opener for both teams on Friday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Gabbidon and Gibson scored 14 apiece, while Johnson added 13 points, a game-high seven assists, five rebounds and two steals for the Roadrunners. Junior Terry Fields pitched in with nine, while junior Demarco Stepter matched Gibson and Johnson with a team-best five boards.
Eaton poured in a career-high 27 points, going 8-for-10 from the free throw line and 9-for-15 from the field, to lead the Cowboys to their 14th consecutive season-opening victory. Harris posted 15 of his 20 points in the second half to help OSU break open a six-point halftime lead.
“I thought it was a game of two halves,” said third-year head coach Brooks Thompson, a former all-conference player at OSU who was given a standing ovation by the 9,733 fans prior to the game. “We executed our game plan pretty well in the first half, but there was about a three- or four-minute stretch in the second half where we got away from that. You can’t give a team like Oklahoma State an opportunity like that or they will take advantage."
UTSA built an 11-3 lead through the first 4:33 of the first half behind a pair of 3-pointers from Gabbidon and another from Johnson. OSU then reeled off 10 unanswered over the next three minutes to take a 13-11 lead near the midway point of the half.
The Roadrunners led 21-17 after a Johnson layup at the 5:26 mark, but OSU closed the half with a 14-4 run to take a 31-25 lead into the locker room.
UTSA was 4-for-9 from behind the arc and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the half and out-rebounded the Cowboys, 15-12. Eaton had 15 of his 27 points in the half to help OSU shoot 44 percent (11-of-25) from the floor and 7-of-10 from the line.
The Cowboys opened the second half on a 16-6 run and eventually built a 53-34 advantage with 11:30 remaining.
UTSA would not go away quietly, though, as Fields and sophomore A.J. Gasporra connected from downtown to help spark a 16-7 run over the next six minutes. A driving layup by Gibson made it 60-50 with 5:36 to play.
OSU, which shot 58.9 percent in the second half, answered with five straight points to kick-start a 12-2 run, closing out the game on a 16-7 margin for the win.
Ibrahima Thomas and James Anderson joined Eaton in double figures with 14 and 12, respectively, while Harris grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. The Cowboys shot 51.9 percent for the game and only committed seven turnovers.
UTSA was 18-of-47 from the field, including 10-of-21 from behind the 3-point line. Gabbidon led all players with four treys, while Johnson and Gibson had two each.
The Roadrunners stay on the road to face Iowa at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17. That game can be heard live on 92.5 The Outlaw in the San Antonio and a free live video stream can be found online at bigtennetwork.com.