STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) Phil Forte III led four double-figure scorers with 20 points and Oklahoma State cruised to an 82-68 win over Milwaukee-Wisconsin on Friday night.
Forte added four steals and four rebounds and hit 5 of 11 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers. Le'Bryan Nash scored 17 points and had five rebounds, while Anthony Hickey and Michael Cobbins each added 15 points for Oklahoma State (4-0) which shot 50 percent from the field and hit 9 of 22 from long range. Cobbins pulled down a game-high six rebounds and also blocked three shots in his first game since December of last season.
Steve McWhorter led the Panthers (1-3) with 18 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Matt Tiby scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
UM outrebounded OSU, 32-26, but committed 17 turnovers.
Tiby sparked a late UM run with a pair of 3-pointers, drawing the Panthers to within 10 at the 5-minute mark. But a three-minute dry spell on the offensive end allowed the hosts to never be threatened.
Oklahoma State got off to a spirited start, forcing four Milwaukee turnovers and hitting 6 of 8 in the first 4 minutes to build a 15-5 advantage. The hosts led by as much as 21 and took a 44-27 into halftime. The Panthers committed 13 turnovers and the hosts were credited with 10 steals.
A pair of McWhorter field goals in the opening minute of the second half cut the deficit to 14, but the Cowboys quickly pushed the margin back to 20 over the next 2 minutes, getting 3-pointers from Jeffrey Carroll and Hickey.
Cobbins, a 6-foot-8 senior, played in 13 games last season before an injury to an Achilles tendon put him on the sidelines; he was forced to sit out the first four games of 2014-15 due to an NCAA-imposed penalty for appearing in two games during a freshman season that eventually became a redshirt year. The Amarillo, Texas, product that averaged 5.6 points per game his first three seasons made an immediate impact, scoring the game's first four points and altering a Panther shot on their first possession.
TIP-INS
Oklahoma State:
The Cowboys outscored their first three opponents by an average of 32 points.
OSU is 190-4 at home against non-conference opponents since 1987.
Through four games, Nash has attempted 39 free throws, an average of 9.7 per game.
With three blocked shots, Cobbins moved into seventh in school history with 114.
Milwaukee:
Freshman guard Justin Jordan is the nephew of NBA legend Michael Jordan.
Steve McWhorter and Evan Richard are the only two seniors on the Panthers' 17-man roster.
UM is 2-7 all-time against current members of the Big 12 Conference.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State plays Oregon State on Monday in Las Vegas in the second round of the MGM Grand Main Event.
Milwaukee faces Louisiana Lafayette on Monday in Las Vegas in the MGM Grand Main Event.
