Smart, Brown finish off Purdue
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Travis Ford called a 30-second timeout when Oklahoma State’s lead over Purdue dissolved from 24 points to four with less than four minutes remaining in Thursday’s game.
Ford wasn’t red-faced and angry. He wanted to calm his players and then gauge their reaction to encountering the team’s first test of the season.
“When it got really tight and we kind of had that look and they (the Boilermakers) were jumping up and down, I said, ‘This is good for you guys,’” Ford said. “I wasn’t kidding.
“I was anxious to evaluate our team and see how we did. They get an ‘A’ for finishing — a lot lower grades in the middle of the second half — but the way we finished, I liked it.”
The fifth-ranked Cowboys, who cruised to their first five wins, found themselves in a sticky situation midway through the second half of an 97-87 victory in the first round of the Old Spice Classic.
Leading scorer Marcus Smart, who built OSU’s sizable lead with 24 firsthalf points, was on the bench with four fouls.
Backup point guard Stevie Clark was unavailable because of an ongoing suspension.
Big men Michael Cobbins and Kamari Murphy had fouled out.
And Purdue (5-1) was in attack mode after a sluggish start that included 10
NO. 5 OKLAHOMA STATE VS. BUTLER
When: 12:30 p.m., Friday Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Fla.
TV: ESPN (Cox 29/HD 720; U-verse 602/HD 1602; Dish 140, DirecTV 206)
Radio: KXXY-FM 96.1 Three things to know
The Cowboys have scored 90 points or more in six straight games for the first time in program history.
Phil Forte made his first three foul shots against Purdue, giving him 43 straight made free throws — tying him with Joe Smith for the most consecutive foul calls against the Boilermakers in the first seven minutes. The physical back-and-forth continued throughout the game, with Purdue’s Jay Simpson ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul and three other players, including Cowboys Smart and Markel Brown, receiving technical fouls.
Smart was slapped with a technical for his reaction to a foul call, one of 60 whistled in the game. During Smart’s eight-plus minutes on the bench, Purdue outscored OSU 26-12.
“That’s not like me to get a technical, especially in that moment of the game,” Smart said. “I’m not saying I’ve never gotten a tech before, but never in that moment of the game when my team needs me.
“That was a crucial moment because it gave them momentum, and they just started going on their run.”
Ford had already sent Smart to check in when Kendall Stephens drained a deep 3-pointer with 3:16 makes in OSU history — then missed his next one.
OSU has never beaten Butler, standing 0-4 against the Bulldogs, although all four meetings came in 1933 and 1934. left to cut Purdue’s deficit to four.
“You can feel it when the other team is going on a run,” Ford said. “… They gained total momentum and we were going the other direction because of foul trouble.
“It was a great learning lesson for us, because teams are going to make runs. We hadn’t been in that position and it was good for us.”
OSU (6-0) nearly doubled the Boilermakers’ point production in the final three minutes, with Le’Bryan Nash, Brown and Smart scoring on consecutive possessions and the team hitting seven of eight free throws in the final minute to seal the win.
“I told our team, as many things as I’m not happy about, I’m very happy with the last three or four minutes,” Ford said. “I really am. I am proud we were able to sustain it because we very easily could have came up on the other end of the stick.”
With several teammates unable to contribute, Brown played his usual role of reliable veteran, running the point while Smart was on the bench and coming up with key baskets. Brown finished with 25 points and Smart had 30.
“We knew Marcus was on the bench to the underfour-minute mark,” Brown said. “We know how great of a player he is when he’s in the game and that we wouldn’t have him at that moment, so we came together as a team and we had to take it one play at a time.
“It was great for this team because we’re going to be in more situations like that, where Marcus is in foul trouble maybe and somebody else has to step up.”
NORMAN — Jordan Woodard isn’t much for getting fazed by pressure.
It certainly didn’t get to him last week in Brooklyn against Seton Hall.
Woodard was right in the middle of the Sooners’ comeback from a sixpoint deficit in the final minute.
Woodard came up with a critical steal right in the middle of that last-minute comeback, drawing a foul and hitting a free throw to pull OU closer.
This is nothing new for Woodard, the freshman point guard from Edmond Memorial.
“He’s got that gamesmanship,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. “He’s got that feel for getting a steal. He’s done it all his life.”
Woodard showed it just a few months ago in the Class 6A state title game against Midwest City.
Playing on a hamstring torn earlier in the tournament and held without a field goal until the final second, Woodard flashed his flair for the dramatic.
With his team trailing by one, Woodard stole an inbounds pass with eight seconds left, deflected it to a teammate, then scooped up the rebound and tipped it in at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 49-48 win and a state title.
Woodard flashed back to that moment last weekend in Brooklyn.
“It was just as magical as that championship night, on the collegiate level,” Woodard said. “So it made it great. It wasn’t a championship game or anything but right now in college basketball, every game is important.”
He’s settled nicely into the point guard role, averaging 8.6 points and nearly five assists per game while turning the ball over just more than twice a game.
“He’s made real solid progress,” Kruger said. “He started off pretty comfortable so it’s not like he was real shaky and now he’s comfortable. He was pretty comfortable and he’s getting more comfortable every game. He’s pushing the ball aggressively, a little bit more aggressively as things go on.”
Woodard is mainly looking for consistency.
“That’s the most important thing,” Woodard said. “That effort and consistent habits showed up at the end of that game against Seton Hall.”
Woodard is also looking for consistency in his shooting.
So far, he’s 10 for 37 (27
OKLAHOMA VS. ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK
When: 2 p.m. Friday Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37/HD 722, Dish 416, DirecTV 679, U-verse 754/ HD 1754)
Radio: KRXO-FM 107.7 Three things to know
Sooners starting forward Ryan Spangler and UALR starting guard DeVonte Smith played against each other for the 2011 Class 4A state title. Smith led Douglass with 19 points to beat Bridge Creek 64-52. Spangler had 28 points and 18 rebounds in that game.
Senior forward Cameron Clark and sophomore guard Buddy Hield have each scored in double figures in all five games for the Sooners. Clark is third in the Big 12 in scoring (18.2) and Hield is ninth (16.2). Clark has led the Sooners in scoring in each of the last three games.
The Sooners are 5-0 all-time against UALR, winning by an average of 101-72. The last meeting came in 1999, with OU winning 80-56. percent) from the floor and 2 of 11 from behind the 3point line.
That’s not something Kruger is worried about though.
“He’ll start getting a little bit more comfortable shooting the ball,” Kruger said. “He’ll shoot a better percentage. That will come.”