STILLWATER — Excited to make his Oklahoma State basketball debut after missing the season opener, Isaiah Coleman absorbed the energy of Gallagher-Iba Arena early.
A 6-foot-5 junior guard who transferred from Seton Hall, Coleman scored the Cowboys’ first four points, providing some of his own energy to the GIA crowd.
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Coleman’s strong first half helped OSU (2-0) build a strong lead and four other Cowboys joined Coleman with double-figure points as the Pokes rolled over Texas A&M, 87-63 on Sunday afternoon.
“I couldn’t wait to get out there on the floor,” said Coleman, who had 13 points and nine rebounds in his first game as a Cowboy. “It hurt me not to be out there with my team last game, but it is what it is.”
Coleman fed off the excitement of a strong crowd and rowdy student section.
“They were crazy,” he said. “I love it, though. Bring it Wednesday.”
A crowd of 7,501 turned out for the Pokes’ first game against a major-conference opponent, seeing their squad build the lead to double-digits midway through the first half, then beyond the 20-point mark early in the second.
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“I thought the fans were fantastic, I thought the students were great,” coach Steve Lutz said. “I thought that really gave us an opportunity early. When you go into a game, especially a game like this where they press a lot and they do some different things, you need to feel the crowd behind you.
“We certainly felt that tonight, all night.”
Here are three takeaways from the OSU victory:
More: Oklahoma State basketball pulls away from Oral Roberts in season opener | 3 takeaways
Cowboys show offensive firepower
OSU coach Steve Lutz went hard recruiting scorers in the offseason, and those efforts showed Sunday, even on a day when the shooting percentages weren’t exactly stellar.
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The Cowboys shot 48.5% (32 of 66) from the floor overall, but just 26.9% (7 of 26) from 3-point range. Yet five players scored at least 12 points and six had at least four made field goals.
Christian Coleman, a 6-foot-8 wing, broke through with seven quick points in the middle of a 13-3 run that stretched a four-point lead to 14.
He finished with a game-high 16 points, and Vyctorius Miller added 15 with five assists and four rebounds. Point guard Jaylen Curry added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Center Parsa Fallah had 12 points and seven rebounds, hitting the only 3-pointer he attempted.
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And all that came with one of the team’s top offensive weapons, Anthony Roy, out again with an injury.
On top of that, point guard Kanye Clary exited with an injury, but as the primary ballhandler in Clary’s absence, Curry felt the impact of the scorers around him simplifying his job as a facilitator.
“Bro,” he said, shaking his head, “they make it way more easier. Just knowing I got guys who’ll go knock shots down, who’ll go run the floor, go set screens, get me open so I can facilitate like I do, it’s a blessing to be able to play with these guys.”
OSU defense stifles Texas A&M from deep
Facing an up-tempo Texas A&M offense that relies heavily on the 3-pointer, Lutz focused his defensive efforts on getting in passing lanes and challenging shots of the players he believed were the most dangerous outside shooters.
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The strategy worked, with A&M hitting just 9 of 35 shots from 3-point range, and the Pokes forced 15 turnovers that they turned into 29 points.
“Last year, we really extended up the floor and denied a lot more,” Lutz said of his team’s defensive style. “But I felt like with this game, there were certain guys you could plug the gaps more with, and then when they did drive the ball, that you would have an opportunity to attack the basketball. I thought we did a pretty good job recognizing that.”
Though Lutz targeted offensive prowess in his recruiting efforts, his focus since their arrival over the summer has been defense.
“At practice, we been locking in on defense,” Curry said. “That’s the biggest thing right now. We’re not really worrying about offense right now. We’re just worried about the defensive side. Today, we locked in and we got what we needed to get done.”
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OSU big men offer versatility
Lutz added far more depth on the interior than he had last year, when the Cowboy roster had just two players taller than 6-foot-8. And these big men offer more than just size.
Trailing a fast break in the second half, the 6-foot-10 Fallah made a 3-pointer that put the Cowboys up 65-39 and sent GIA into a frenzy. But he also showed off his offensive capabilities in the paint.
Returning 6-11 sophomore Andrija Vukovic is best known for his rebounding and defense, but looks better conditioned to play more minutes in Lutz’s fast-paced system.
And 6-7 Robert Jennings II earned a reputation last year for playing bigger than his size and doing a lot of dirty work in the paint, which continued to show Sunday.
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Lefteris Mantzoukas, who missed the season opener, possesses the skills to play on the perimeter, finishing 4 of 6 from the floor with eight points and three rebounds.. He handled the ball against the Texas A&M press and passed well.
“Lefty’s a guard more than he’s a center, by any means,” Lutz said. “He’s a good ball-handler. We’re glad to have him back, and he played well tonight.”
The Cowboys are back in action Wednesday, hosting Prairie View A&M at 7 p.m. at GIA. Lutz did not have an update on Clary’s health status and said Roy remains day-to-day.
“Anthony wants to play against Oral Roberts, he wants to play against Texas A&M, he wants to play against Prairie View A&M,” Lutz said. “But in my mind, I want him to play against Texas Tech and Kansas and Houston and those guys.
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“So we’ve got to get him healthy and I know our medical staff is working hard at that. He’s chomping at the bit to get back.”
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball routs Texas A&M to improve to 2-0
