Oklahoma St. Ties School Record For 3-Pointers On Way To 85-70 Win Over Sam Houston

Bryce Thompson and Javon Small each hit four of Oklahoma State’s school-record-tying 17 three-point field goals in an 85-70 win over Sam Houston on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

After making just 5-of-23 from deep in a season-opening loss to Abilene Christian, the Cowboys (1-1) connected on 17-of-33 (.515) to equal the program mark, set Feb. 27, 2019 at Texas Tech.

Bryce Thompson nailed 4-of-5 attempts on his way to a game-high 17 points.

Small – who was unavailable for the opener due to injury – bagged 4-of-7 in his OSU debut. The East Carolina transfer also handed out five assists with just one turnover.

John-Michael Wright added 14 points in 22 minutes.

Sam Houston’s Davon Barnes scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the first 5:00 of the game to spot the Bearkats (1-1) to an early 13-6 advantage.

The Cowboys started 2-of-7 from three but connected on 15-of-26 the rest of the way, beginning with back-to-back Justin McBride triples.

Brandon Garrison’s layup with 3:50 to play in the half gave OSU the lead for good and set off an 11-1 push that helped send the hosts into halftime with a 38-30 advantage.

Small scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help bust the game open. Over a 66-second stretch, he hit two threes and found Thompson for a fast-break slam to push the margin to 17 with 6:52 to play.

OSU took its largest lead of the night (19) with 3:08 to go when Wright flung up a 25-foot prayer ahead of the shot clock buzzer and drew nothing but net.

The Cowboys made nine of their last 11 three-point attempts, capped by Wright’s record-tying triple with 1:30 remaining.

OSU finished at 46.9% from the field. Sam Houston made 10-of-26 threes (.385) but shot just 37.7% overall.

A year ago, OSU ranked among the bottom 30 nationally in three-point percentage (.310) but has higher hopes in 2023-24 with a retooled roster that includes nine scholarship newcomers.

The Cowboys’ 85 points was their highest output since a 91-62 win at Oakland on Nov. 13, 2022.

OSU travels to Brooklyn, N.Y. next week for the Legends Classic. The Cowboys meet St. Bonaventure in Thursday’s semifinal round (5:30 p.m. CT, ESPNU) and will face either Notre Dame or Auburn on Friday.