Oklahoma State Hammers Texas Tech

After losing three of its past four, Oklahoma State was in dire need of a victory on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater.

Mission accomplished.

Not only did the Cowboys take care of Texas Tech, they also posted the most lopsided home victory against a Big 12 Conference foe in 13 years.

The Cowboys trounced an out-manned Tech squad 79-45 in Gallagher-Iba Arena behind a combined 40-point effort from guards Markel Brown and freshman Phil Forte.

It was the biggest blowout against a league for in Stillwater since Desmond Mason, Doug Gottlieb and Co. routed Nebraska 94-55 on Feb. 19, 2000 in the old GIA.

Oklahoma State took an early 21-9 lead before the Red Raiders chipped away, eventually closing the Cowboys' lead to three with six minutes left in the half. OSU responded with an 8-0 run and grew the lead to 12 before the break, as the Pokes outscored Tech 19-5 the rest of the half.

Then any thoughts the Raiders had of making a comeback disappeared in the second half, OSU methodically stretched out its lead the remainder of the contest, with the biggest advantage coming on the final scoreboard up 34.

The Cowboys were sparked by hot shooting performances from Brown and Forte. Brown scored 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 from 3 and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Brown also created opportunities for his teammates with a game-high six assists in 31 minutes.

Forte came off the bench to score 19 points in 23 minutes. He shot 4-of-7 from the floor, all from the 3-point line, and also hit seven of his eight free throws.

Standout freshman Marcus Smart had a rough shooting performance, scoring just three points on 1-of-6 shooting and played just 21 minutes because of the blowout. Le'Bryan Nash scored nine points, four assists and four rebounds. Michael Cobbins scored eight points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Pokes.

The Cowboys (12-4, 2-2 Big 12) shot 47.2 percent from the field and 50-percent from 3 on 8-of-16 shooting. The Pokes also dominated on the glass and in efficiency, outrebounding Tech 40-23 and collecting 16 assists to the Raiders' four.

OSU got back to its defensive ways, limiting the Raiders (8-8, 1-4) to 28.3 percent shooting (13-46) and 17 percent from 3 (3-17). Only two Tech players managed double figures with Jaye Crockett scoring 11 and Jordan Tolbert had 10.

Next up for the Cowboys is a road game at Baylor on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Bears also won on Saturday, beating Hardin-Simmons 107-38.