McGriff, Anei lead Oklahoma St. past Mississippi 78-37

By DENIS P. GORMAN Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Boynton could remember such a complete win.

Kermit Davis was unable to recall such an across-the-board loss.

Call it opposite sides of the same coin.

“Tonight was a good night to be a Cowboy,” Boynton said after Oklahoma State routed Mississippi 78-37 in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday night at the Barclays Center.

Cameron McGriff scored 15 points for Oklahoma State (7-0).Yor Anei, who was named the tournament’s MVP, finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, Lindy Waters III also had 14 points and Thomas Dziagwa scored 11.

“Guys played with a great sense of purpose and determination,” Boynton said. “I think we beat a pretty good team.”

Anei was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Isaac Likekele, Mississippi’s KJ Buffen and Breein Tyler, and Penn State’s Mike Watkins.

Antavion Collum and Tyree each had seven points to lead Ole Miss (5-2).

The Cowboys took control with an 18-1 run over the last 7:53 of the first half to go into halftime with a 34-15 lead. Dziagwa knocked down two 3-pointers in the run, while McGriff, Anei, and Waters III all contributed four points.

“We didn’t have a very good day of preparation,” Davis said. “Leadership was bad. I take full credit.”

Jonathan Laurent’s right side 3-pointer with 10:32 left extended the lead to 59-29.

The Rebels were held to 25.9% shooting from the field, made just 1 of 20 from 3-point range, and only went to the foul line 11 times — missing five. Mississippi also endured two extended droughts from the field in the second half. The Rebels went without a made field goal for nearly-8 minutes in the second half.

“It’s embarrassing and disappointing,” Davis said. “Really embarrassing. We just didn’t compete the right way. Leadership on our team wasn’t very good. We didn’t have a guy that played. (We didn’t) have one guy that you can really say, ‘(That) was one guy who really tried to play.’ We didn’t compete very hard.”

BIG PICTURE:
Oklahoma State: OSU pressured Mississippi ball-handlers, took away passing lanes, and contested shots. The Cowboys forced 20 turnovers, allowed them to get into their transition game and outscore the Rebels 18-4 in fast-break points. … It was the Cowboys’ largest margin of victory since beating Oral Roberts 91-48 on Nov. 16, 2017 and their fewest points allowed since an 81-29 win over Washington State on Dec. 4, 2004.

Ole Miss: The Rebels went into the game averaging nearly 75 points per game and shooting 45.2% from the field. Breein Tyree and Blake Hinson, who entered the game averaging 16.5 and 16.0 points per game, respectively, combined to score 12 on 5-of-19 shooting.

UP NEXT:
Oklahoma State: Hosts Georgetown Wednesday.
Mississippi: Hosts Butler Tuesday.
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