Two of Oklahoma State's smallest players made the biggest difference in the third-ranked Cowboys' 92-89 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma.
Darwyn Alexander and Corey Williams, two-thirds of the Cowboys' three-guard offense, scored 24 and 21 points Monday night as Oklahoma State improved to 17-0, the best start in school history.Alexander, who stands an even 6 feet, led the team with nine rebounds and made two clinching free throws with five seconds left. Williams, who's 6-2, had eight rebounds to take up the slack for Byron Houston, who was hampered in the second half by foul trouble.
"Byron is a great basketball player. I think he's one of the outstanding players we have in the game," coach Eddie Sutton said. "But we've got some other players who when he gets in trouble ... the other guys somehow rise to the occasion and display a lot of courage and do the things it takes to win. That certainly was very evident tonight."
The victory before a record crowd of 12,286 left Oklahoma State 3-0 in the Big Eight for the first time since 1980-81 and snapped an 11-game losing streak in Norman.
Oklahoma (11-3, 1-2) took 30 more shots than the Cowboys, but hit only 43 percent compared with 63 percent for Oklahoma State.
"I think we played about as poorly as we can play, and I don't think Oklahoma State can play any better than they played," coach Billy Tubbs said. "I thought they played a terrific game."
Seton Hall 75, No. 22 St. John's 60
Terry Dehere scored 23 of his season-high 31 points in the first half when Seton Hall took control as the Pirates ended a three-game losing streak with a Big East victory at the Meadowlands.
Dehere, who missed a couple of minutes because of leg cramps early in the second half, capped two game-breaking spurts for Seton Hall (10-5, 3-4) - one in each half - and had a big assist on a basket by Arturas Karnishovas after St. John's (10-5, 4-3) inched within 64-58 with less than four minutes to play.