Cowboys Hold Off Top-Ranked Kansas

Originally Published: Feb 27, 2010 5:30 PM CDT

Recap | Box Score

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

STILLWATER, Oklahoma -- Oklahoma State was looking for a signature win to vault them into the NCAA Tournament, and got it with a 85-77 win over the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Cowboys’ first scoring possession gave the Jayhawks and the fans a taste of things to come for the rest of the game, as James Anderson came off a screen and hit a long two-point shot to take the lead.

Xavier Henry responded with a long 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks their first of two leads in the game.

Three minutes later Matt Pilgrim hit a jumper to tie the game, and two possessions later Anderson knocked down a shot from behind the arc to give the Cowboys the lead. That 12-9 difference would be the closest the Jayhawks would be for the remainder of the game.

When Keiton Page pulled up to hit a long 3-pointer on the Cowboys’ next possession, the crowd ignited and OSU fed off the energy for the rest of the first half.

Oklahoma State used that momentum and energy to string together a 14-2 run to build a 23-11 lead.

The Jayhawks answered with a quick 7-0 run, but when Anderson and Page hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the Cowboys seized control for the remainder of the half. OSU went into the locker room leading 45-29.

Oklahoma State led comfortably for most of the second half, but when Kansas tried to threaten with its perimeter shooting halfway through the second half, Page answered with 3-pointers on two consecutive possessions.

Kansas came alive late from behind the arc, and whittled down the Cowboys’ lead to 9 with three minutes left. The Cowboys had difficulty scoring against the Jayhawks full-court press and couldn’t convert on free throw opportunities.

With less than two minutes left in the game, the Cowboys came up with a turnover and Anderson ran the floor to expand the lead back to 10 with a dunk.

Kansas closed the lead to seven and threatened to pull within two possessions, but Anderson blocked a layup by Tyshawn Taylor. On the next KU possession Sherron Collins missed a 3-pointer, and Matt Pilgrim responded with a wide-open layup to push the lead to eight with 14 seconds left.

Anderson finished the game with 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals to lead the Cowboys to victory. Pilgrim contributed big on the boards. Three of his six rebounds came on the offensive end contributing to his 18 points, while Page was a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc to contribute 15 points to the cause.

Oklahoma State is back in action Wednesday in College Station, Texas against Texas A&M.