Humphrey grabs 20 boards, Cardinal loses
Jeffrey Carroll scored 26 points, hitting five three-pointers in the process, and Kendall Smith added 19 points to help Oklahoma State beat visiting Stanford 71-65 on Monday night in a second-round game of the NIT.
Oklahoma State pulled away with a 12-1 run in the fourth quarter.
Michael Humphrey scored 15 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season for Stanford (19-16). It was his last college game.
“It’s crazy how quickly it comes to an end,” Humphrey said. “With Coach ( Jerod) Haase and the guys they have in the locker room coming back next year, I know I’ll always be a Stanford Cardinal fan. They’re in very good shape. I know they’ll work hard this offseason and only get better.
“It’s been an amazing four years, and something I’d do again in a heartbeat and wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Added Haase, “Mike was an absolute warrior out there, not only with points and rebounds, but also leading the team. He did everything right, which is a cool way to go out.”
Stanford’s Reid Travis added 10 points and 11 rebounds but Dorian Pickens, averaging 14.7 points, was just 3-for-13 shooting for 11 points.
Oklahoma State (21-14) trailed 54-53 before Carroll scored five points during the 12-1 run for the only double-digit lead of the second half.
Mitchell Solomon chipped in with 10 points for the Cowboys, who won a second straight NIT game for the first time in school history in front of a crowd of 9,635. Carroll scored 11 points in the first half as Oklahoma State led 30-29 after assisting on eight of its 12 baskets.
The Cardinal “have really good athletes, too,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boyton said. “They pass it well . ... We were able to speed them up when we needed to, but on the boards they dominated us.”
In other NIT games:
Sedrick Barefield led five Utah starters in double figures with 17 points and the host Utes (21-11) hit 14 three-pointers in a 95-71 victory over LSU. Freshman Tremont Waters had 19 points, eight assists and four steals for LSU (18-15).
Western Kentucky held off USC 79-75 in Los Angeles. Forward Justin Johnson led WKU (26-10) with 23 points. The Trojans (24-12), a No. 1 seed in the tournament, got 20 points from Elijah Stewart off the bench. Jordan McLaughlin had 13 points and 14 assists.