Williams leads Cowboys over No. 14 Missouri 76-70
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Darrell Williams had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead Oklahoma State to a 76-70 victory over No. 14 Missouri on Wednesday night.
Jean-Paul Olukemi and Keiton Page each scored 19 for Oklahoma State (15-7, 3-5 Big 12), which ended a three-game losing streak.
Missouri (17-5, 3-4) lost its fourth consecutive league road game after arriving in Stillwater just six hours before tip-off after their travel plans were disrupted by a major snowstorm.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marcus Denmon and Matt Pressey each scored 15 points to lead the Tigers. Ricardo Ratliffe added 13 before fouling out.
OSU, which led by 15 with 10 minutes to play, hit 29 of 43 from the foul line, including a big pair by Olukemi with 1:33 to play for a 73-67 lead.
Pressey's 3 cut the deficit to 73-70 in the final minute but Olukemi hit two more that helped push the margin back to six.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Williams' offensive rebound and put-back gave the Cowboys a 63-49 advantage at the nine-minute mark before the Tigers, coming off a 13-point loss at Texas last Saturday, rallied with buckets by Ratliffe and Denmon, plus a free throw by Denmon to make it 63-55.
After Page's finger roll pushed the margin back to 10, Denmon's steal and lay-up and Ratliffe's reverse lay-in quickly made it 65-59 with six minutes remaining. Denmon's 3 from long range brought the Tigers to within 67-62 at the 5:45 mark.
James English's 3 at the four-minute mark cut the deficit to 69-65 and the Tigers got to within three in the final minute.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Big 12's top scoring team was held 13 points under its season average and lost its fifth game this season when trailing at halftime.
Page's long-range 3 gave the Cowboys a 39-31 lead at halftime.
In anticipation of the storm that has covered most of the Midwest, Missouri changed its departure from Columbia from Tuesday to Monday. Unable to get a flight to Oklahoma City, the contingent bused to Kansas City and planned to fly to Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A winter storm that dropped 20-plus inches of snow in parts of Oklahoma forced the closing of the Oklahoma City airport and another change in travel plans.
On Wednesday morning the Tigers finally reached their destination, flying directly into Stillwater Municipal Airport and arriving around 2 p.m. for an 8 p.m. tip.
Oklahoma State closed its campus Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Tigers plan to fly back to Columbia on Thursday morning.