Keller perfect as OSU men rout No. 19 BYU
STILLWATER — Freshman Jamyron Keller celebrated his 19th birthday with a careerhigh 22 points as Oklahoma State knocked off 19th-ranked Brigham Young University 93-83 Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
STILLWATER — Freshman Jamyron Keller celebrated his 19th birthday with a careerhigh 22 points as Oklahoma State knocked off 19th-ranked Brigham Young University 93-83 Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Keller’s 8-for-8 shooting performance was the best by a Cowboy since Dec. 7, 2010, when Marshall Moses made all 12 shots in a 31-point outing against Tulsa.
Fellow freshman Brandon Garrison added 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting. He drew nine fouls and knocked down 7-of-12 free throws.
Quion Williams (15 points), Javon Small (14 points, six assists) and John-Michael Wright (13 points) also finished in double-figures for OSU (1114 overall, 3-9 in Big 12 play), which knocked off a nationallyranked foe for the first time this season.
Those five players combined for all the OSU points during a 27-15 start and 85 of the 93 overall.
BYU (18-7, 6-6) came in averaging a nation-best 11.6 threes per game but made just 2-of-16 in the first half and 8-of-35 overall for a season-low 22.9 percent.
The Cowboys shot a seasonbest 59.6 percent from the field, helped by an 11-of-22 performance from long range. They were 8-of-14 in the first half and took a comfortable 4934 lead into the locker room.
BYU cut a 20-point lead to single digits with 4:26 to play before Keller converted a tough layup through contact for the last of his eight makes. The Cowboys sank 13-of-18 free throws over the last four minutes keep the visitors at bay.
Keller also helped set the tone early, scoring eight of the first 11 Cowboy points.
His steal and lay-up capped a 13-5 run that made it a 27-15 game with 11 minutes to play in the opening half.
BYU pulled to within half-adozen late in the period before the Cowboys, who had gone nearly five minutes without a point, exploded for 14 over the final two minutes.
Williams ended the first half with a tip-in and opened the second with a three-point play to push the OSU lead to 52-34.
Keller’s 3-point basket made it 66-46 with 12:43 to go.
Garrison and Keller became the first OSU freshman duo in more than three years to score 20 points in the same game. Rondel Walker and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe had 20 and 22 respectively at Iowa State on Jan. 25, 2021.
OSU will make a return trip to Provo on Mar. 9 for its regular season finale.
The first Big 12 era matchup between OSU and BYU was also their first since the 200304 season when the Cowboys advanced to the Final Four. Members of that team were on hand Saturday for a reunion.
OSU improved to 77-84 at Gallagher-Iba Arena against nationally-ranked opponents.
It was seventh-year coach Mike Boynton Jr.’s 24th Top-25 win — third-most in OSU history behind Eddie Sutton (49) and Henry Iba (27).
The Cowboys will have more opportunities to add to that total in the coming weeks. They’re on the road at Cincinnati tonight (6 p.m.) before returning home next Saturday to take on No. 25 Oklahoma (3 p.m.).
