Cowboys Shut Down By No. 2 Longhorns

Oklahoma State couldn't get through the tough Texas defense and suffered a double-digit loss.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:12 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Feb 16, 2011 10:11 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 2 Texas Longhorns blew the doors off in the opening minutes of the second half and rode that wave to a 73-55 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys Wednesday.

The Longhorns doubled-up Oklahoma State in the opening minutes of the second half, outscoring the Cowboys 20-10 by the 11:31 mark to take a 58-35 advantage. Included in that run are 11 points – seven consecutive at one point – from Texas forward Gary Johnson, who finished with a game-high 17 points.

Oklahoma State had trouble getting anything going offensively throughout the game due to the defensive calling card of Texas. The Cowboys didn’t boast a player in double-digit scoring until the 8:24 mark in the second half when a Marshall Moses layup gave him 10 for the game.

The Cowboys managed to cut the lead to less than 20 points, but never really threatened in the second half.

Texas managed to have three of the game’s top four scorers. In addition to his game-high scoring total, Johnson finished with 10 boards to record a double-double. Jordan Hamilton, who was hot from behind the arc, finished with 15 points and six boards, while Tristan Thompson ended with 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Markel Brown led the charge for Oklahoma State with 14 points. Marshall Moses added 10 points and Matt Pilgrim only managed four points but managed to grab 14 rebounds.

Texas came out of the gate hot to build a cushion early in the game.

The Longhorns started the game off with a 12-4 run, including a pair of three-pointers from Hamilton, to give their defense plenty of room to operate late in the half.

However, the Cowboys would respond quickly. After a TV timeout, OSU scored a quick four points to cut the lead to just four points. The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes, but then the Longhorn defense took over.

Texas held Oklahoma State scoreless for nearly three minutes, while managing to score seven points. A Corey Joseph three-pointer capped the run to give Texas a 27-15 advantage, the first double-digit lead of the game.

That 11-point lead would hold through the rest of the half and the Longhorns went into the locker room at halftime leading 36-25.

Oklahoma State will come back to Stillwater for matchup with Texas A&M at 8 p.m. Saturday.