Oklahoma State used a 50-point second half to put away visiting Green Bay, 89-76, on Monday night in its debut under head coach Steve Lutz.
Bryce Thompson led a balanced scoring effort with 22 points, Abou Ousmane added 16 points and team-high eight rebounds, while Davonte “Devo” Davis and Marchelus “Chi Chi” Avery tacked on 10 points apiece.
Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Marcus Hall added 21 for Green Bay (0-1) which was playing its first game under head coach Doug Gottlieb, OSU’s all-time assist leader.
The Phoenix knocked down nine of their first 14 three-point attempts before cooling early in the second half.
Up 39-38 at the intermission, the Cowboys used a 19-3 run to pull away and led by as many as 22 points down the stretch.
The Cowboys shot 42.0% from the field but converted 10-of-22 threes and 21-of-24 free throws. They dominated on the glass (43-25), helped a 19-3 edge in offensive rebounds, and ran up 20-4 surplus in second-chance points.
Green Bay finished with strong shooting numbers, hitting 49.0% from the field and 14-of-31 from deep, but attempted 18 fewer shots and eight fewer free throws on the night.
OSU scored 27 points off 19 Green Bay turnovers, as nine Cowboys combined for 11 steals.
The Cowboys faced their largest deficit at 22-15 near the midway point of the first half before cranking out 74 points in a span of just over 38 minutes.
Thompson’s three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining in the first half provided the last of nine first-half lead changes and sent the Cowboys into the locker room with a 39-38 advantage.
Thompson scored 13 second-half points on 3-of-3 long range shooting on the way to his eighth career 20-point performance.
The Cowboys are back in action Sunday at 2 p.m. against St. Thomas.