Forte Leads OSU Past Slumping Red Raiders

Phil Forte drained five 3-pointers to lead Oklahoma State to a 63-43 win over woeful Texas Tech on Wednesday night in Stillwater.

The Cowboys (13-5, 3-3) rebounded nicely after back to back conference losses. OSU lost a tough one at Kansas then got blown out by rival Oklahoma last week. The Pokes are now 3-0 at home in conference play and 0-3 on the road.

Le'Bryan Nash played very efficiently for the Cowboys once again. Nash scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and committed just one turnover. OSU got a surprise double-figure performance from Jeff Newberry, who scored 13 points on 3-of-6 from the floor. It was one shy of Newberry's season high which came against NW Oklahoma State back in November.

Their performances helped to make up for Anthony Hickey's down night. OSU's starting point guard scored just one point on 0-of-2 shooting, but did dish out eight assists. The Cowboys shot 44.7 percent as a team and 37.5 percent from deep, mostly thanks to Forte's 5-for-7.

With the exception of reserve Keenan Evans, Texas Tech was brutal. Evans poured in 18 points 7-of-13 shooting off the bench, but no one else did much of anything. Evans was the only Red Raider in double digits, and two Tech starters didn't even score. In fact, Texas Tech's five starters combined for just 13 points.

TTU shot just 27.8 percent from the floor and 25 percent from downtown.

Oklahoma State is back in action on Saturday at Kansas State. OSU beat the Wildcats back on Jan. 3 in Stillwater, but KSU has won four of five since. Tip from Manhatten is set for 11 a.m.