Oklahoma State reserves Luka Bogavac and Andrija Grbovic scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, as the Cowboys cruised to a 91-60 victory over Incarnate Word on Monday in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys’ bench outscored the Cardinals’ reserves 58-17 in the season opener for both teams.
Jordan Burks and Parker Robinson each added 11 points, while Jacob Walker contributed eight points, eight assists and four steals for Oklahoma State.
Mekhi Conner finished with a game-high 18 points and Godswill Erheriene produced 12 points for the Cardinals.
Oklahoma State opened the game with 12 straight points. Walker’s steal led to a Burks dunk in transition to cap the game-opening rally. Oklahoma State held a 15-4 advantage in fastbreak points and recorded 10 steals. Incarnate Word managed just one steal.
Incarnate Word committed 21 turnovers while Oklahoma State had just nine, as the Cowboys consistently disrupted the Cardinals’ offensive rhythm.
After D’Arrae Goodwin set up Erheriene for an alley-oop dunk that briefly interrupted Oklahoma State’s run, the Cowboys responded with five straight points to take a 17-2 lead.
Incarnate Word answered with a step-back 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper from Max Garcia-Plata, trimming the Cardinals’ deficit to 17-7 and prompting an Oklahoma State timeout.
Oklahoma State responded with a 16-2 outburst to seize control of the game. Latrell Allmond’s follow-up dunk capped the run and gave Oklahoma State a 33-9 lead with 7:15 remaining in the first half.
The Cowboys held a 21-4 edge in second-chance points, pulling down 15 offensive rebounds. The Cardinals managed three offensive boards.
Erheriene’s dunk and Brandon McCreesh’s three pulled Incarnate Word within 43-17 late in the first half. But the Cardinals went scoreless over the final 3:04 as Oklahoma State reeled off 11 straight points, taking a 54-17 halftime lead on a trey from Bogavac.
The Cardinals trimmed the deficit to 34 points on five occasions in the second half but were never able to get it below that threshold until they closed the game on an 8-0 run.
