Stillwater NewsPress

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November 7, 2009

OSU survives scare with room for improvement

Justin Hite — Stillwater NewsPress

Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Travis Ford might as well had been a mad scientist toiling the hours away in his laboratory.

Ford mixed ingredients and tried different mixtures on Saturday night looking for the right concoction for OSU.

He didn’t find the perfect blend, but the Cowboys did just enough to win their first exhibition of the season against the University of Central Oklahoma. The Cowboys slipped by the Bronchos 89-80 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“I wouldn’t have played as many guys if I was just trying to win the game,” Ford said. “We were trying to win, but we were trying to put things together and win.”

Ford started a pair of point guards, instead of the interior combination of Matt Pilgrim and Marshall Moses. Pilgrim did check into the game only five minutes in as the pair of big men played alongside each other for the first time.

That was just the beginning of the odd assortment of lineups that Ford would unleash. No more than seven minutes into the game, Ford finally got a close look at all three of his possible point guards.

Sophomore Keiton Page and freshmen Ray Penn and Fred Gulley all checked into the game at the same time as the Cowboys went super small. Both Penn and Gulley took turns running the team while all three were in.

“That’s just coach Ford,” Muonelo said. “You never know what to expect.”

Page left the game with 6:50 remaining with an ankle injury. After the game, Ford wasn’t sure if the sophomore from Pawnee would miss any time. If Page misses time, Oklahoma State will have to rely on the two freshmen point guards to handle the duties — something both struggled to do on Saturday night.

“They know that they need to get better,” Ford said. “We talked about that in the locker room and they admitted it. I know, in the back of my mind, they are freshmen, but I’m not going to let them use that as an excuse.”

By the end of the game, every healthy Cowboy checked into the game, but Ford consistently rotated seven players — including the two freshmen.

There were plenty of problems among the experiments Ford threw onto the court on Saturday. The Cowboys committed 27 turnovers, nine came from Gulley, and went 24-for-40 from the from the free throw line.

“We humbled ourselves and know what we need to work on,” Muonelo said. “I think we came into this game thinking we are better than we are.”

There were a few flashes of brilliance in the Cowboys’ opener — most of which centered around Pilgrim. Midway through the second half, forward James Anderson, who finished with 23 points, left a behind-the-back pass for Pilgrim, who went up and under for two of his 14 points.

Only minutes later, Pilgrim skied through the air and grabbed one of his 13 rebounds, before slamming home a follow-up dunk.

Pilgrim and forward Obi Muonelo each finished with a double-double. Anderson finished with nine rebounds — missing a double-double by one board.

There were still more mistakes than Ford was happy with. Most came from players he didn’t think would make mistakes.

“James and Obi made a lot,” Ford said. “I’m a little disappointed in the returning guys. I didn’t expect that out of them.”

Oklahoma State will host Dillard College at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.

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