Oklahoma State hands No. 2 Mizzou 2nd loss

Associated Press

STILLWATER, Okla. — Keiton Page tried to explain to his Oklahoma State teammates the sensation of fans rushing the Gallagher-Iba Arena court to celebrate a big upset.

With freshman swingman Le’Bryan Nash flashing the brilliance that made him a McDonald’s All-American, they got to experience it for themselves.

Nash scored a career-high 27 points, Brian Williams added a career-best 22 and Oklahoma State knocked off No. 2 Missouri 79-72 on Wednesday night, handing the Tigers their second loss of the season.

“Le’Bryan played at a very high speed tonight, a very high gear. All of his moves were a little bit more explosive,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said.

Nash scored 13 points during a 17-4 burst that sent the Cowboys (10-10, 3-4 Big 12) into the lead in the final 4 minutes and the Tigers didn’t have a response.

Nash hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to get it going, then nailed another 3 from the left side to give the Cowboys a 65-64 lead with 3:23 to play. He connected on another 29 seconds later and ran to the opposite end of the court when Missouri (18-2, 5-2) called timeout to encourage a student section that was already hopping up and down to bring it on.

When the clock hit zero, the students rushed the court and huddled around Oklahoma State’s players at midcourt.

Earlier in the week, Page fielded questions from his younger teammates about his experiences from an upset of top-ranked Kansas two seasons ago, hoping for a similar result.

“A lot of them just wanted to know what it was like for the students to run on the floor,” Page said. “My answer’s a lot different for them. I’m 5-9. They can see, they can breathe when it happens.”

Ricardo Ratliffe had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead Missouri, which allowed the Cowboys to shoot a season-best 59 percent. They hadn’t surpassed 49 percent against an NCAA opponent all season.

“I thought that our focus was not where it needed to be in order to win a game like this on the road,” Tigers coach Frank Haith said.

Missouri got steals on three straight possessions to fuel a 10-2 run in the first 5 minutes of the second half, taking a 48-41 lead when Ratliffe waited out two defenders leaping prematurely to block his shot at the left block before scoring the basket.

Ratliffe’s three-point play off a spinning bucket at the right block gave the Tigers their largest lead at 53-45 with 14:22 to play, but it didn’t last.

“I expected it to be a hard-fought game,” Haith said. “This is Big 12 basketball. There’s good players.

“We didn’t do what we needed to do to finish the game out once we got control of the game.”

Nash had a bucket off a baseline inbounds pass and another off a post-up move against Kim English to get Oklahoma State within striking distance.

Markel Brown added another energizing play with a right-handed dunk off an alley-oop but got called for his second technical foul for getting in Matt Pressey’s face and was ejected. Marcus Denmon hit the two free throws from the technical and Ratliffe added two more off a third-chance opportunity to push the lead back to 60-53, but the Cowboys didn’t miss a beat.

After Nash’s big spurt, Williams had a two-handed dunk in transition and a three-point play to help preserve the lead down the stretch.

Nash had scored 21 points four times this season but was coming off a rough performance when he had only four points and got himself into foul trouble.

“I was trying to get aggressive in the second half,” Nash said. “I talked to my coaches and they were like, ‘Don’t try to let the ball come to you. Go get the ball.’

“Basically, that’s what my teammates did. My teammates got me the ball in good situations and once it started rolling, the shots started falling.”

Ford credited a renewed commitment from Nash, who stuck around for extra shots following shootaround instead of joining his teammates to eat.

“When he’s shooting like that, give him the ball every single time. He was making big plays on the offensive end and the defensive end,” Page said. “If (Nash) keeps playing like that and we keep playing as a team, we could be a dangerous team in the Big 12.”

Denmon finished with 17 points but on 4-for-16 shooting. Phil Pressey, the Big 12’s assists leader, matched his season low with two.

It continued a rough stretch for Top 25 Missouri teams in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Tigers have lost six straight games while ranked in Stillwater, dating back to 1992, and may not be visiting again anytime soon with next season’s move to the Southeastern Conference.

Four of those six losses have come at the hands of unranked Oklahoma State teams.

Brown provided a boost right from the start with a thunderous right-handed jam on Oklahoma State’s first possession after winning the tip. He picked up a technical foul 90 seconds into the game that seemed inconsequential at the time but eventually led to his dismissal.

OSU made an uncharacteristic 57 percent of its shots while leading most of the first half. Page’s step-back jumper from the left elbow provided the Cowboys a 37-36 lead at the break.

The first half marked the third-best shooting performance in a half this season for Oklahoma State, the Big 12’s worst shooting team at 41 percent, only to be outdone by a 62 percent mark after halftime.

“It’s a huge win for us. It’s a big win,” Page said. “It just shows us what we’re capable of. It shows us we can play with anybody. We still have a long ways to go. … This team’s hungry. This team’s hungry for wins.”

NO. 4 OHIO STATE 78, PENN STATE 54

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jared Sullinger had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Ohio State took advantage of Penn State’s slow start.

The Buckeyes (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten) won their third in a row and fifth in six games while tuning up for Sunday’s big home showdown with No. 20 Michigan. The Wolverines, Ohio State and Michigan State came into the week tied for the top spot in the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions paid tribute to Joe Paterno by wearing black bands on their jerseys. Paterno, Penn State’s football coach for 46 years and the winner of a major-college record 409 games, died Sunday at age 85. A public viewing and funeral was held earlier on Wednesday.

William Buford added 15 points and Aaron Craft had 11 — all in the first half — as the Buckeyes built a lopsided lead.

Big Ten scoring leader Tim Frazier had 16 points for Penn State (10-12, 2-7), which has lost its last 17 meetings with Ohio State.

NO. 8 DUKE 74, MARYLAND 61

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Mason Plumlee scored 23 points and Duke averted its first losing streak of the season by pulling away from Maryland.

Seeking to rebound from a rare home loss against Florida State, the Blue Devils trailed 47-46 with 12:54 left but outscored Maryland 28-14 the rest of the way.

Ryan Kelly had 14 points and Austin Rivers 10 for Duke (17-3, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Blue Devils have dominated this rivalry of late, winning four straight and 10 of 11.

Terrell Stoglin scored 16 for the Terrapins (12-7, 2-3).

Before the game, Maryland honored former coach Gary Williams by dedicating the court in his name. Williams, the winningest coach in the history of the program, revved up the sellout crowd with his signature fist pump as he entered the arena.

NO. 10 MICHIGAN ST. 68, MINNESOTA 52

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Draymond Green had 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists to help Michigan State beat Minnesota and give coach Tom Izzo his 400th win.

Izzo downplayed what the milestone meant to him on Monday, but was wiping tears off his cheeks during the final seconds of the victory.

The Spartans (17-4, 6-2) moved into a first-place tie in the Big Ten with their second straight win after losing two in a row.

The Golden Gophers (15-6, 3-5) had won three straight, including their previous two on the road. Rodney Williams scored 15 points for Minnesota.

NO. 12 UNLV 77, BOISE ST 72, OT

BOISE, Idaho — Mike Moser had 18 points and 21 rebounds to lift UNLV to an overtime victory against Boise State.

Chace Stanback added 15 points and Oscar Bellfield had 13 for the Runnin’ Rebels (19-3, 3-1 Mountain West Conference) in a game that was close throughout the second half.

With the score tied at 64 at the end of regulation, Moser and Bellfield led the way in the extra period dominated by the Rebels. Bellfield hit a 3-pointer that put them up 70-65 with 2:03 left and Moser sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to seal UNLV’s third straight victory.

Boise State (10-9, 0-4) rallied late in the second half and had a chance in the final seconds, but couldn’t get off a clean shot before the buzzer.

Derrick Marks led the Broncos with 21 points and Thomas Bropleh added 17 points and 13 rebounds.

NO. 15 CREIGHTON 77, DRAKE 69

DES MOINES, Iowa — Doug McDermott scored 30 points and Creighton held off Drake for its sixth straight road win.

Jahenns Manigat added 15 points for the Bluejays (19-2, 9-1 MVC), who have the program’s longest road winning streak in 37 years.

Creighton let a 15-point lead dwindle to two early in the second half. But McDermott helped keep the Bulldogs from getting any closer, scoring 10 straight points late in the half.

Rayvonte Rice had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Drake (12-9, 5-5).

NO. 18 MISSISSIPPI STATE 76, LSU 71

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Arnett Moultrie scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season and Mississippi State held off a late LSU charge.

Moultrie had 19 points in the second half as the Bulldogs built on a 32-31 halftime lead. The 6-foot-11 junior made 10 of 18 shots from the field and grabbed six offensive rebounds.

Jalen Steele scored 15 points — hitting 3 of 4 from 3-point range — and Rodney Hood added 13 for Mississippi State (17-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference), which outrebounded LSU 46-26. Dee Bost had nine points and 10 assists.

Andre Stringer led the Tigers (12-8, 2-4) with 17 points off the bench.

LSU hit four late 3-pointers to pull within 72-71 with 15 seconds left. The only thing that saved the Bulldogs was a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line during LSU’s run.

NO. 22 KANSAS ST, 69, TEXAS TECH 47

LUBBOCK, Texas — Martavious Irving scored 16 points and Rodney McGruder had 13 to lead Kansas State over Texas Tech, keeping the Red Raiders winless in Big 12 play.

The Wildcats trailed briefly early but muscled their way into the lane and outscored Texas Tech 36-20 in the paint.

Kansas State (15-4, 4-3 Big 12) pressed on defense, leading to a season-high 25 turnovers for the Red Raiders — 12 were Kansas State steals — which the Wildcats converted into 27 points.

Freshman Jordan Tolbert scored 18 points to lead Texas Tech (7-12, 0-7).

NO. 23 FLORIDA STATE 75, WAKE FOREST 52

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Michael Snaer scored 18 points to lead Florida State over Wake Forest.

Okaro White added 11 points, Xavier Gibson had 10 and Snaer hit four 3-pointers to help the Seminoles (14-6, 5-1) win their fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference game, their longest winning streak in league play in two years.

The ACC co-leaders shot nearly 51 percent, led the entire second half and broke the game open with an 18-2 run.

C.J. Harris scored 16 points to lead Wake Forest (11-9, 2-4), which lost center Ty Walker to a concussion late in the first half and couldn’t overcome 18 turnovers or a rough game from No. 2 scorer Travis McKie. He finished a season-worst 1 of 13 and scored three points — well below his average of 17.