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STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Yor Anei, Cameron McGriff and Isaac Likekele combined for 35 points and Oklahoma State dominated the boards as the Cowboys defeated Kansas City 69-51 in nonconference action Saturday afternoon.
Anei finished with 13 points while McGriff added 12 and six rebounds and Likekele chipped in 10 points to lead the Cowboys, who had 10 players finish in the scoring column.
Oklahoma State (2-0) held a 40-24 rebounding advantage and outscored the Roos (1-1) 42-18 in the paint to coast to the victory.
After amassing eight blocked shots in Oklahoma State's season-opening win Wednesday against Oral Roberts, Anei had only one blocked shot against Kansas City but made more of an impact with his scoring.
With Oklahoma State leading 37-26 at halftime, the 6-foot-10 sophomore notched his team's first six points of the second half to help the Cowboys build their lead to 44-28.
"I have got a little bit stronger this season and have been able to hold my position (inside) a little bit longer," Anei said.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton said he has been pleased with Anei's play through the team's first two games.
"Yor is developing an identity as a big defensive force and presence," he said. "His presence still impacts the way guys attack us. I thought he played well. He is still a big force on the defensive end."
Kalib Boone notched eight points and had three blocked shots for Oklahoma State while twin brother Keylan contributed seven points.
Lindy Waters and reserve Jonathan Laurent grabbed five rebounds apiece as eight Cowboys had at least three rebounds.
The rebounding discrepancy didn't go unnoticed by Kansas City head coach Billy Donlon.
"The three things you have to do when you play Oklahoma State is to do well on transition defense, defend the glass and you have to take away their threes," he said.
"For the majority of the game, we did two of those things; transition defense and took away their threes, but they killed us on the glass and that was the separator."
Kansas City's Javan White paced all scorers with 20 points, including 13 in the second half. He was the only Roo in double figures.
Oklahoma State used a 15-4 run to open its biggest lead of the first half, 33-17, with 3:25 to go before halftime.
Shooting 53.6 %from the field (15 of 28) and leading by as many as 16 points, Kansas City connected on three, 3-pointers in the final three minutes as the Cowboys settled for an 11-point cushion at the half.
Oklahoma State led by 18 points with 14 minutes to play. The Roos pulled to within 58-46, with 4:58 remaining on a 3-pointer by Marvin Nesbitt. But that is as close as they would get.
Kansas City ended up connecting on just 35.4% of its field goal attempts (17 of 48) while Oklahoma State finished with a 48.3% accuracy from the floor (28 of 58).
BIG PICTURE
Kansas City: The Oklahoma State contest is the first of three games for the Roos against Big 12 Conference foes this season. Kansas City also has December matchups against Iowa State and Kansas. Kansas City has not defeated a Big 12 team since 2003.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys are now 27-3 all-time against teams from the WAC, including a 17-0 mark in Stillwater.
UP NEXT
Kansas City continues a three-game road trip — its longest of the season — with a game Wednesday at Drake. The road swing concludes Friday at Milwaukee.
Oklahoma State makes its first journey on the road with a matchup Wednesday against the College of Charleston (S.C.).
