Oklahoma State and South Florida have been flexing their depth leading up to their nonconference game on Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla.
The Cowboys (4-0) used a big second half Sunday to overcome a dogged effort from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and pull off an 85-69 win. Oklahoma State shook off the Islanders, who briefly tied the game early in the second half, with an effort that saw five players land in double figures.
In his first game with the Cowboys, Anthony Roy led the way with 15 points while Vyctorius Miller tallied 13. When Roy played last season at Green Bay, he led the nation in scoring at 25.7 points per game through 11 games. Then he fractured his ankle and missed the rest of the season.
Because he missed the first three games this season, Roy was limited to 16 minutes off the bench against Corpus Christi and said he’s still playing his way into shape.
“I felt good,” Roy said. “I’ve been itching to get out there and play alongside the guys. Now that (I’m back), I’m looking forward to getting better.”
Meanwhile, the Bulls (3-1) knocked off Kennesaw State 108-89 on Sunday in a road game that featured all five starters in double figures.
Joseph Pinion needed just seven shots from the field to lead South Florida with 24 points because he hit 11 of 12 free-throw attempts. Josh Omojafo (20 points), Izaiyah Nelson (18 points), Wes Enis (13 points) and CJ Brown (10 points) also contributed to the high-octane attack.
South Florida, which averages 101.3 points per game, shot 50% from the field against the Owls. While the Bulls only got 23 points off their bench, coach Bryan Hodgson said he likes the way the starters share the ball.
“We’ve got a deep group,” Hodgson said. “And hopefully we get to get into our bench even more here down the road as some of these freshmen evolve and some of these guys figure out what we want to do on both ends of the floor. But we’ve got a very unselfish group, so I’m not surprised by that (scoring balance).”
