March 08, 2003
Ivan McFarlin had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 20 Oklahoma State ended a three-game losing streak with a 77-52 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday.
The Cowboys (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) held on to an early lead and wore down the Aggies (14-13, 6-10) with their defense. Oklahoma State had 34 defensive rebounds to Texas A&M's 22.
Melvin Sanders also scored 17 points for the Cowboys, while Tony Allen added 12 and Andre Williams and Victor Williams each had 10.
The victory ensured Oklahoma State the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in next week's Big 12 tournament.
The Aggies trailed 32-17 at halftime, the fewest first-half points allowed by Oklahoma State this season.
Shut down on the inside, Texas A&M shot 31 percent from the field and was only 3-of-18 from 3-point range.
Bernard King led the Aggies with 17 points, followed by Andy Slocum with 10.
Oklahoma State took the lead for good 4{ minutes into the game and used runs of 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 to go up by as many as 17 points in the first half.
Texas A&M got within 14 points in the second half when Tomas Ress made two free throws after officials called a technical foul on Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton.
But Allen scored the Cowboys' next six points and Oklahoma State pulled away.