After an uneven start to the 2021-22 season, Oklahoma State attempts to corral consistency when it hosts UMass Lowell in the first of two games it will play in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase on Tuesday night in Uncasville, Conn.
The Cowboys (2-1) host the Riverhawks (2-0) before playing NC State on Wednesday night as part of the annual four-team event.
Following a 56-55 upset loss at home against Oakland last week, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton made some changes to his starting lineup, inserting Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Bryce Thompson to replace Rondel Walker and Donovan Williams.
Moncrieffe — an offensive rebound machine — finished with six points including two big dunks that helped OSU stave off a comeback attempt by Prairie View A&M in a 72-59 win on Sunday. Prairie View opened the second half on a 15-0 run after the Cowboys had built a 23-point lead at the break.
Keylan Boone led OSU with 12 points and the Cowboys’ bench scored 39 points to help secure the victory.
“The starting lineup just wasn’t going today,” Boone said. “That’s fine. They got help from the bench. Some games it’s going to be the other way around. We’ve just got to have each other’s backs.”
UMass Lowell picked up one of its biggest wins in recent vintage on Saturday with a 59-58 victory at Dayton. Justin Faison led the Riverhawks with 21 points and Allin Blunt hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left to help UMass Lowell seal the outcome in front of 13,000 fans at Dayton.
UMass Lowell is 2-0 for the first time at the Division I level and earned only its second victory against an Atlantic 10 opponent.
“This is obviously a great win for our program,” UMass Lowell coach Pat Duquette said. “Dayton is one of the best atmospheres in college basketball. The best part about the win was the defense we played. Justin hit some big shots for us. Allin hit two huge free throws. We executed without turning the ball over and the defense kept us in the game.”
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–Field Level Media
