The Gazette

Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: DeShawn Saffold Sophomore Alburey Doss goes up for two points against the Cowboys.

The Langston University Lions knew that they were going to have a tough game. Even with new OSU Head Coach Travis Ford, the Cowboys still had several returning players who had plenty of experience in one of the toughest conferences in college basketball: the NCAA's Big XII.

But with 8:26 remaining in the first half, the Lions of the NAIA (1-1) were giving the Cowboys all they wanted. Trailing by only eight with 8:26 remaining in the first half, the Lions looked like they might be able to shock (or at least disappoint) many of the OSU faithful who didn't travel to Lubbock to watch their football team play Texas Tech.

Then, reality set in.

The Cowboys (2-0) defeated the Lions 113-65 Saturday afternoon in a home exhibition at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater and broke open what previously was a 29-21 game when OSU scored 15 unanswered points to lead 46-23 with 4:41 to go in the half. Those unanswered points sparked what would soon become a 30-8 run during the final eight-plus minutes, and the Cowboys had a 59-29 lead at halftime.

Oklahoma State's starting five all scored in double figures, as did two bench players. Langston's leading scorer was Daniel Thomas, who finished with 19. Lance Sullivan got a double-double for the Lions, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Langston Head Basketball Coach Greg Webb said that the game was necessary for the Lions, who played Oklahoma Christian University last night before going on a four-game road trip beginning Friday evening against Bethel College.

"The game was beneficial to us," Webb said. "Oklahoma Christian does a lot of the same things that OSU does. We will be able to learn from this game, and correct some of the things that we need to work on."

Webb also said that the environment of Gallagher-Iba Arena could help the Lions on the upcoming road trip.

"Anytime you play in an arena like Oklahoma State's, it can only help you with other road games that you are going to play," Webb said. "I'm glad that we got the opportunity to play in this environment because all we can do is benefit from it."

The Lions couldn't keep up with the Cowboys' shooting percentage. Oklahoma State shot 48 percent from the field, while Langston only managed 39.7 percent. The bright spot for Langston was in free-throw percentages, as they shot 16-26 and 61.5 percent for the game. But OSU managed to better Langston in this category as well, shooting 9-13 and 69 percent from the charity-stripe.

The Lions' next game against Bethel College is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m.

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