by LAHAINA, Hawaii — Jeffrey Carroll had 20 points and Oklahoma State racked up 19 steals in a 97-70 win over Georgetown on Wednesday in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.
Oklahoma State (5-1) bounced back from a 32-point loss to No. 4 North Carolina in the semifinals by revving up its pressure defense.
The Cowboys turned 28 turnovers by Georgetown into 41 points and had a 59-16 advantage in bench points to close their trip to Maui with a resounding victory.
Jawun Evans had 13 points and Brandon Averette 12 for Oklahoma State. Freshman Lindy Waters,III (Kiowa/Cherokee) had 9 points for the Cowboys as well and had a game high 5 steals
Thomas Dziagwa was a force in the first half for the Cowboys. The freshman forced a pair of steals and went 2-of-2 from 3-point and 2-of-2 from the line for eight points.
The Hoyas struggled with the Cowboys’ pressure in the third-place game, leading to turnovers and breakouts in transition that came in bunches.
Oklahoma State forced 14 turnovers in the first half — 11 on steals — that led to 18 points and a 50-35 lead after Dziagwa’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
The Cowboys tied the school record for steals in a game with 19 against the Hoyas. OSU had 18 in the win over UConn on Monday.
The second half was more Georgetown turnovers, more points in transition for Oklahoma State.
Evans had one steal in Georgetown’s end early in the half, fed the ball to Forte and ran back without looking as his backcourt mate drained a 3-pointer in transition.
Cameron McGriff had one of the best dunks of the tournament with a tomahawk-and-foul over Pryor, and Carroll had another backboard shaker with a two-handed putback slam.
Rodney Pryor led the Hoyas with 15 points and Bradley Hayes added 13.
Georgetown’s 27-point loss makes this the most lopsided loss by the Hoyas since 1994 (78-51 at DePaul on Jan. 22, 1994).
Tonight’s game was the first ever meeting between these two programs. The Cowboys are now 41-36 against current members of the Big East Conference.
UP NEXT:
The Cowboys will return home to face Rogers State in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Nov. 30. The Cowboys will celebrate Oklahoma’s Native American heritage with their special N7 jersey night.
