Written by Ernie Casanova
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL— In a follow up to what was an amazing championship game, the Oklahoma State Cowboys faced off against the LSU Tigers in a battle for a third-place ranking within the tournament. Oklahoma State got off to a powerful start and surprised the #19 Tigers to come away with the win by a score of 90-77. With the result, Oklahoma State finishes the tournament in 3rd while LSU comes out in 4th.
Oklahoma State was all over the Tigers early, with Yor Anei hammering down a dunk for the first points of the game. Anei scored four of the teams first seven points, picking up where he left off in the last two days of tournament play. After Marlon Taylor hit two free throws to give LSU presence on the scoreboard, Lindy Waters drained two consecutive three-pointers followed by another jumper from Anei for the Cowboys to give them a 15-2 lead. LSU needed to answer quickly, and that they did. The Tigers went on a 9-3 run to shrink their deficit and were now trailing 18-11. Cameron McGriff hit two jumpers, while Michael Weathers hit one of his own as the Cowboys went back up comfortably, leading 24-15.
Still, with the way these games have been unraveling, it was too fast to count the Tigers out. LSU scored 10 points in three minutes while keeping the Cowboys at bay, as they were now down by three with six minutes left in the first half. After Skylar Mays hammered down a dunk in transition, Ja’Vonte Smith hit a three-pointer on their ensuing possession to give them a 31-29 lead. Waters storms back for the Cowboys and sinks in a layup, with Anei following up with one of his own. At this point, what was deemed to become a blowout in the first five minutes, turned into a championship caliber game. The Cowboys headed into halftime leading the Tigers 42-37.
The second half was a much more different scenario. The Cowboys struck first and kept striking, pulling away from the Tigers. With Waters hitting one from deep to score first, McGriff and Weathers alongside him were key on a 15-2 run that led them to take a 57-39 lead with 15 minutes left to play. A couple of minutes later, Weathers scored two consecutive layups that brought the Cowboys’ lead to a 22 point lead. After a dunk from Mays sparked the Tigers bench, Thomas Dziagwa nailed a heart-crushing three-pointer for Oklahoma State that finished the script.
McGriff was responsible for 8 of his team’s last 17 points and finished with a remarkable total of 28. He battled against Mays who in return scored 20 points for LSU, hitting 4-7 from beyond the arc. McGriff didn’t do it alone though. Waters gave the Cowboys an all-around efficient game, notching 16 points with five rebounds and four assists. Weathers also contributed largely finishing with 12 points.
Kavell Bigby-Williams contributed to the Tigers’ effort with 12 points and seven rebounds, but he was the other lone Tiger with more than nine points. The Tigers lacked in free throw efficiency, shooting 60% (12-20) and it greatly hurt them. The Cowboys shot 80% from the charity stripe and it proved to be key in a victory that could’ve been of shorter margin.
