Tyreek Smith, Moussa Cisse and Quion Williams each had a double-double to lead top-seeded Oklahoma State to a 69-64 victory over host Youngstown State in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday in Ohio.
Smith had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cowboys, who will host Eastern Washington (23-10) in the second round on Sunday.
Cisse added 10 points and 13 rebounds and Williams chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Cowboys (19-15), who have won three of their past four games.
Bryce Thompson finished with 11 points and four rebounds for the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State shot 26 of 71 (36.6 percent) from the field, including 4 of 19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Cowboys outrebounded the Penguins 49-34.
Youngstown State (24-10), which tied its school record for single-season victories, was led by Dwayne Cohill’s 25 points and five assists.
Brandon Rush added 12 points, while Adrian Nelson chipped in nine.
The Penguins shot 22 of 62 (35.5 percent) from the field, including 8 of 28 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, in addition to allowing 44 points in the paint.
Trailing 49-41 with 14:54 left, the Cowboys responded with a 15-5 run to take a 56-54 lead they wouldn’t relinquish on John-Michael Wright’s layup with 5:46 remaining.
Cisse followed with a two-handed slam off a rebound with 3:34 to go before his alley-oop jam off Thompson’s lob made it a six-point game with 2:26 to play.
Thompson’s jumper pushed the advantage to 62-54 with 1:33 left.
Youngstown State pulled to within 67-64 following Rush’s dunk with 11.1 seconds left, but Caleb Asberry made two free throws with 9.8 seconds to go.
Youngstown State controlled most of the first half, leading by as many as nine before taking a 37-33 halftime advantage.
Cohill scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes for Youngstown State.
Oklahoma State was led by Smith’s 11 points.
–Field Level Media
