The Oklahoma State men's basketball team got 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists from point guard Kanye Clary.
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State point guard Kanye Clary walked into the postgame interview room with a big smile, a bigger hard hat and the biggest stat line.
Wearing the OSU hard hat as a symbol of his masterful effort in the Cowboys’ 87-76 win over UCF on Tuesday night, Clary neared triple-double territory with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Cowboy big man Parsa Fallah led the Cowboys in scoring with 24 points, while Anthony Roy added 15 points and seven boards in an important bounce-back win following Saturday’s 22-point loss at Texas Tech.
“I thought they embraced Sunday’s practice and Monday’s practice from the defensive side, from the effort side, from the physicality side, from the toughness side,” coach Steve Lutz said. “And it carried over to tonight’s game.”
The Cowboys (13-2, 1-1 Big 12) used a 12-1 run that spanned from the 8:01 mark of the second half to 2:13 with OSU building its lead to 15 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Cowboy victory:
Kanye Clary anchors win
Fallah was the early star for OSU, scoring 16 of his 24 points in the first half, but Clary settled in later.
He had four rebounds and five assists in the first half, but hadn’t scored until he hit a 3-pointer out of a timeout with 9 seconds left before halftime.
In the second half, he had 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting, which included a couple of 3s and two tough layups in crucial moments.
After the loss at Texas Tech on Saturday, Lutz spoke about selfish play resulting in limited assist numbers, and Clary was among the guilty parties that day. But he responded with his most complete game of the season.
“Coach just put me in position to get downhill, use my speed,” Clary said. “He gave me the opportunity to shoot the ball, and today, shots went in.”
Defense shines, especially in first half
OSU’s previous five opponents had combined to shoot better than 40% from 3-point range, and defending the perimeter was a clear emphasis for the Cowboys in preparation for Tuesday.
UCF was 7 of 33 (21.2%) from deep, and just 1 of 14 in the first half.
“I’ve always believed that they had it in them to do it,” Lutz said of his players’ defensive play. “I’ve always said that I believe in their character, I believe in their ability and I believe in their will to win.
“Unfortunately, that’s not always been the top of our list. And it’s bit us in the butt when we weren’t. I felt like we had a fantastic video session Sunday, followed by a practice, and followed by a practice on Monday in which they embraced what the Big 12 is about. You cannot win in this league if you take bad shots, you do not play defense or you do not rebound the basketball.”
Perhaps this win can be a learning experience the Cowboys take forward into the rest of Big 12 play.
“We had to go back to the basics,” Clary said. “Just executing the little things. That was the difference today.”
A win that will matter in March
UCF had climbed to No. 32 in the NET rankings after a home win over Kansas on Saturday, while the Cowboys had dipped into the 80s.
But with the challenging schedule the Big 12 provides, wins like this can boost the Pokes’ status quickly.
It’s far too soon to project the Cowboys as an NCAA Tournament team, but any win of this level will help two months from now.
“We’re happy to have our first win in the Big 12, our first top-25 win of the year,” Lutz said. “You’re obviously gonna have a bunch more opportunities because the league is so strong. But anytime you can win in the league, you gotta embrace it, you gotta enjoy it, and then you gotta flip the page tomorrow morning and figure out a way to go compete with Iowa State.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball holds off UCF for Big 12 statement win
Category: General Sports
