by TILLWATER, Okla. — On a day in which his Native American heritage was celebrated throughout the game, Lindy Waters scored 19 points — eight in the final three minutes — to help lead Oklahoma State to a 64-57 victory over Yale on Sunday.
Waters, a Kiowa/Cherokee Tribe member, also had five rebounds. Yor Anei added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Oklahoma State (4-0). Isaac Likekele contributed 11 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Paul Atkinson scored 16 points and had a game-high 10 rebounds for Yale (2-2), last year’s Ivy League champion.
Yale pulled even at 48 on Eric Monroe’s 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining, then got back to within 54-52 on Jordan Bruner’s dunk with 3:25 left, but the Bulldogs missed three consecutive free throws and Waters sank two 3s over the next two-plus minutes to push Oklahoma State to a 60-54 advantage with 1:23 left.
BIG PICTURE
Yale: After playing in two overtime games in their first three outings, going 1-1, the Bulldogs are clearly comfortable playing in close contests. After falling behind 23-10 with 6:31 left in the first half, Yale battled back with an 11-2 run and wound up trailing just 27-23 at halftime. For most of the second half, the teams were within five points of each other, up until the final moments, although this time, the Bulldogs were unable to force OT.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys endured some difficulties shooting, in all facets of the game. Their overall shooting percentage of 40 (26 of 65) was their second-lowest of the season, as was their 3-point percentage of 21.1 (4 of 19), while their free-throw percentage of 53.3 (8 of 15) and their 64 points were season lows. After shooting 34 free throws in their season-opening 80-75 win over Oral Roberts, Oklahoma State has taken only 40 combined in the three games since.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys remain home to take on Western Michigan on Friday night.
