No. 9 Oklahoma St. 68, Iowa St. 55

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Iowa State and Jake Sullivan got a dose of what has carried No. 9 Oklahoma State to the longest winning streak in Division I. <br><br>Tough, tough defense. <br><br>Sullivan, who

Thursday, January 30th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Iowa State and Jake Sullivan got a dose of what has carried No. 9 Oklahoma State to the longest winning streak in Division I.

Tough, tough defense.

Sullivan, who came in averaging 18 points, scored just six on 1-of-10 shooting and Oklahoma State forced 23 turnovers in a 68-55 victory Wednesday night, the Cowboys' 15th in a row.

``They've got the reputation as having the best defense in the country and we knew coming in that it was going to be difficult,'' coach Larry Eustachy said. ``Our breakdown was turnovers. They are very athletic, quick and experienced.''

The Cowboys (17-1, 6-0 Big 12) had 15 steals, five by Victor Williams, who also had 18 points and converted three three-point plays during a pivotal second-half run.

Tony Allen scored 15, although he was bothered by foul trouble and was just 6-of-16 from the field. Melvin Sanders scored 12 but made his mark at the defensive end, where he guarded Sullivan most of the night.

``I know he's a great shooter and a good scorer, and I was trying to keep him from catching the ball as much as possible and keep him from scoring,'' Sanders said.

Sullivan scored all his points in the first 4 1/2 minutes _ four free throws and a baseline jumper.

``He had six points pretty quick. I thought he might go for 30 on me at first,'' Sanders said.

The Cyclones (11-6, 1-5) only trailed 12-11 before Oklahoma State scored 10 in a row to push its lead to 11. Iowa State turned the ball over five straight times during that stretch and the Cowboys took advantage.

But Oklahoma State made only one basket in the final five minutes, a 3-pointer by Sanders, and the Cyclones closed to 29-25 at halftime.

The Cyclones got to 34-32 early in the second half and only trailed 42-38 when Oklahoma State finally took the game over.

Ivan McFarlin scored inside to start the run at the 10:09 mark, and Williams followed with a three-point play off a turnover. Sanders added a dunk on a fast break, and after a free throw by Andre Williams, Victor Williams scored and was fouled on a layup after a steal by Cheyne Gadson.

His final three-point play, after a blocked shot by Allen, came minutes later and made it 62-45 with 4:43 remaining. The Cyclones got no closer than 10 after that.

``Our offense really wasn't going too well tonight,'' Sanders said. ``We had to pick up our defense and get a lot of transition baskets. That was the only way we really scored tonight.''

The Cowboys scored 27 points off turnovers.

``They played a really strong defensive game but there is no reason for 23 turnovers,'' said Adam Haluska, who scored 15 to lead the Cyclones. ``Turnovers have plagued us all year and that's something we work on in practice but never carry out in the game.

Jackson Vroman had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa State.

Andre Williams said the Cowboys, who were coming off a big victory at Texas Tech and visit No. 3 Texas on Saturday, overlooked the Cyclones.

``I think it was a factor today. I think we looked past Iowa State,'' he said. ``They're a hell of a ballclub and came out and played hard and did everything they could try to do to win the game.

``I guess we were looking to Saturday. That's something we can't do in the future.''