Boynton not concerned over starters' minutes

FORT WORTH, Texas — Before Cam McGriff fouled out with a minute and 19 seconds to play in Wednesday's loss to TCU, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton hadn't made a substitution in 7 ½ minutes.

With their starters on the floor, the Cowboys turned a two-point deficit into a twopoint lead, but after McGriff headed to the bench, a gametying 3-pointer from Thomas Dziagwa with 5.6 seconds left was the Cowboys' only basket, a late quiet spell that proved costly in a 70-68 loss to the Horned Frogs.

With OSU effectively down to six scholarship players, all five of the Cowboys' starters played at least 32 minutes. Boynton, though, didn't express much concern about the situation postgame.

“These kids have got a lot more resiliency and probably physical ability than we sometimes think,” Boynton said. “They're 18- to 22-year-olds. They'll have plenty of time to rest and relax when the season is over.”

Thin Cowboys battle back

Boynton looked around the visiting locker room of TCU's Schollmaier Arena on Wednesday night and reminded the young men in there that no others would walk through the door.

With OSU trailing TCU 39-28 at halftime, the Cowboys' coach imparted a message relating to the team's new motto, “Just Us.”

“There's no lifeguard coming,” Boynton said. “There's no EMS. There's nobody here to save you. We have to go out and find a way to get it done with the group we have, period.”

And they did that. Down to six players for the whole of the second half, the Cowboys rallied from became a 13-point deficit to go up by as many as seven. The Horned Frogs rallied themselves for a 70-68 victory, but Boynton had a different message the next time he met with his players in the locker room.

“What you've just shown is you can go on anybody's home court and compete with anybody,” Boynton told his team postgame. “If you give that effort and focus and toughness and discipline — a little bit more discipline, a little bit more — for 40 minutes, that's a win. That's a win.

“We're gonna win.”

Demuth's absence `psychological'

Boynton believes an injury that left OSU with six scholarship players available for the second half was the case of young player still learning his body.

After playing 46 second in Saturday's loss to Kansas State because of a back strain, freshman forward Duncan Demuth upped that mark to 58 seconds Wednesday. In Demuth's minute of the floor, the Horned Frogs outscored OSU by five.

“I think he's better,” Boynton said. “I think it may be a little more psychological now than truly physical, but we'll continue to monitor him.”

“These kids have got a lot more resiliency and probably physical ability than we sometimes think . ... They'll have plenty of time to rest and relax when the season is over.” Mike Boynton, Oklahoma State coach