Final Stats
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. - Victor Williams scored a season-high 24 points and
No. 24 Oklahoma State put on another stifling defensive performance to win its
12th straight, 76-56 over No. 11 Missouri on Saturday.
Melvin Sanders added 15 points and shut down Missouri's leading scorer,
Rickey Paulding. Paulding had 10 points, seven below his average, on 3-of-12
shooting.
Oklahoma State (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) scored 43 points in the first half, nearly
matching its total in Monday night's 48-46 victory over No. 5 Oklahoma.
Missouri (10-3, 1-1), playing without second-leading scorer Ricky Clemons,
was held 24 points below its average of 80 points per game. Clemons was
suspended after being charged Friday with second-degree domestic assault
against a 20-year-old girl, which he has denied.
The Tigers got knocked out of this one early, falling behind 14-2 in the
first 4:40. Williams scored seven of those points while Missouri made just one
field goal and committed three turnovers.
Arthur Johnson, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, made
consecutive baskets to get the Tigers within 14-6, but an 11-2 run that started
with a Williams 3-pointer pushed Oklahoma State's lead to 25-8 with 10:30 left
in the half.
The Cowboys eventually went to halftime with a 43-21 lead and then led by as
many as 35 in the second half, 71-36.
Sanders, who held Oklahoma's Hollis Price to six points Monday night,
smothered Paulding all day. Paulding didn't get a shot until he scored on a
reverse layup with 12:42 left in the first half.
Clemons is averaging 17.2 points and a team-high 5.7 assists. His
replacement, Jimmy McKinney, had 15 points - just two in the first half - and
four assists.
