Stillwater, OK – Marcus Smart had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead No. 23 Oklahoma State to a 61-49 victory over South Florida.
Markel Brown gave 13 points and eight boards while Philip Jurick totaled seven points and 14 rebounds for the Cowboys (6-1), who bounced back from a loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday.
"We've challenged him in rebounding as far as how to rebound and what kind of rebounds we need for him, and he responded," Cowboys head coach Travis Ford said of Jurick.
Victor Rudd gave 14 points and six rebounds for the Bulls (5-3), who had a three-game winning streak stopped. Anthony Collins added 12 points in the loss.
"I thought Oklahoma State really bounced back from their last game," USF head coach Stan Heath said. "You can tell they played really hard and beat us in 50/50 play, especially in the first half."
Holding a two-point lead early in the second half, Brown and Kamari Murphy made consecutive baskets to kick-start a 13-3 run that was capped by a Mike Cobbins jumper for a 41-29 advantage with under 11 minutes to play.
Rudd made a jumper with less than two minutes to play for a 54-45 contest, but then went for the fouls and Oklahoma State made its free throws to keep the distance and hold on for the win.
A 6-0 run from South Florida gave the team an 11-9 lead when Collins buried a bucket with 13 minutes left in the first half, but Smart tied it with a layup and Oklahoma State scored the next nine points with Phil Forte's 3-ball making it an 18-11 contest.
Oklahoma State never trailed from there and took a 24-19 lead into the second half.
Game Notes
Oklahoma State hosts Missouri State on Saturday ... The Cowboys shot 40 percent and grabbed 41 rebounds, while limiting South Florida to 34 percent shooting and 28 boards ... This was the first meeting between these two schools.
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