'It’ll be a learning experience': Oklahoma State survives Max Abmas, Oral Roberts for road overtime win

TULSA — Oklahoma State guard Bryce Williams was determined to not lose Max Abmas.

Abmas — Oral Roberts’ sensational sharp-shooting guard — was doing his best to get any bit of space for a 3-pointer as time ticked away in overtime.

“I just didn’t want to leave him again,” Williams said. “I believe — not even a couple feet — a couple inches he’s going to hit the shot, bro. I was just trying to make it hard.”

Mission accomplished.

Williams wasn’t giving in as Asmas tried to dribble and get space, so Abmas gave up the ball for a second. He got it back, pump faked a shot and there was still no opening as time ticked to 5 seconds.

So, he passed to OU transfer Trey Phipps, whose wide-open shot as time expired fell well short of the rim, brushing only the bottom of the net as the Cowboys survived ORU 78-77 in overtime Friday afternoon inside a nearly packed Mabee Center.

“I didn't want Trey Phipps to get that open of a look,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “I wish it was a little more contested, but obviously he wasn't prepared to take that shot at the moment. He thought Abmas was going to shoot it regardless.”

The Cowboys (6-1) overcame slow starts, got big days from their two veterans and again dominated with their depth.

But it only gets tougher for OSU moving forward. Four of the next five games come against talented teams capable of playing in the NCAA Tournament, starting with Wichita State on Wednesday.

That’s why Friday’s win was big.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

To the Max

Abmas’ start to the season was up and down. But it was nothing but up against the Cowboys.

He was again the best offensive player on the floor, showing the quick 3-point shot that made him a star leading ORU to the Sweet 16 last March.

Abmas scored 29 points — a year after scoring 36 in a loss in Stillwater — while making 7 of 12 3-pointers. He made 5 of 6 in the first half, taking advantage of screens that put the Cowboys in bad situations with their switching.

“We did all right,” OSU veteran Isaac Likekele said. “We could have had a better effort. But we didn’t really just nail our gameplan like we planned, but that’s what film is for.”

But the Cowboys adjusted in the second half. Williams’ defense was a big reason.

“I think we actually did a pretty good job on Abmas,” Boynton said. “He made tough shots and good players do that. He's tremendous. You gotta respect him, because he also takes good shots. He takes some tough ones and makes them, but he's a good player, shares the basketball and Bryce Williams was sensational on both ends of the court, guarding him for most of the game and making plays on offense for us late as well.”

It was the other Golden Eagles players who did their damage in the second half, nearly pulling the upset.

DeShang Weaver scored 16 of his 20 points in the half, making three treys. Francis Lacis also made a trio of 3s, with one coming in the second half, and finished with 13 points.

“Some of the other ones that the other guys got were too easy,” Boynton said. “We knew that was the way they were going to have a chance was to kinda go crazy from 3.”

ORU made 13 of 33 from deep. Boynton said the hope was to keep it closer to eight.

Veteran duo shines

Boynton expects a lot out of Likekele and Williams.

They’re the battle-tested veterans who have been through the most on and off the court. They lived up to the expectations.

Likekele had his best game of the season, scoring 13 points with more aggressiveness on offense while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing three assists.

And Williams scored a career-high 21 points, scoring 14 in the final 25 minutes. He made two straight turnaround jumpers in overtime, the decisive points.

“I’d say I’m past comfortable,” Williams said. “I was comfortable last year. I was just playing my role. So, this year, I’m going to take what they give me. If we’re not hitting, I’m going to try to give us fire.”

Williams was part of a bench unit that outscored ORU’s 47-8.

Likekele was the lone starter to reach double figures. He was also the lone starter to play in overtime.

And he had a huge stretch in the first half.

He hit his first 3-pointer of the season — he had been 0 for 4 — to tie the game at 28. He then drew a charge, leading to a Kalib Boone basket. After a Boone steal, Likekele found Rondel Walker for an alley-oop dunk and 32-28 lead.

“I’m just doing what the team needs me to do, honestly,” Likekele said. “I’m feeling good. Every game is something different. Over these past couple of days, they have talked to me about being more aggressive, different things like that.

“But I feel like our team is flowing real good right now.”

Poor starts hurt Cowboys

OSU missed its first 10 shots of the game. That extended to making just three of its first 18 shots and a 14-6 deficit.

Then after battling back to take a halftime lead, the Cowboys allowed five quick points to fall behind again.

It was that kind of day for OSU at times. But it’s also a common problem.

The Cowboys start slow, which has led to issues. It puts more pressure on the team to be perfect.

And against a schedule that’s elevated moving forward, that’s a big concern. The crowds won’t always be pro-OSU like Friday.

“We look forward to the games we’re going to continue to be in against the type of competition we can’t afford to get down,” Boynton said. “This was a great example. Go on the road, play against a team that’s confident and play in front of a really good environment — again, shoutout to our fans, because they were sensational — but it’ll be more difficult to go to West Virginia and do this, to come back and play this well in both halves.

"It’ll be a learning experience. It’s better to learn from a win than a loss.”

OSU led for just 11:37 of the game, trailing 26:27 against a Golden Eagles team picked to finish third in the Summit League.

“You just stick to the same process,” Likekele said. “Just coming out there, we gotta be more focused.”

Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSU vs Oral Roberts men's basketball score, game recap, takeaways