OSU-A&M: Afterthoughts

By John Helsley

jhelsley@opubco.com

The Cowboys answered a major question Wednesday night: How would they handle the aftermath of their big win at K-State.

Asked and answered. In fine fashion.

OSU’s 73-69 win was solid, especially considering the Cowboys were without starting point guard Ray Penn again.

A&M actually played one of its best offensive games of the season, uncharacteristically firing in 3-pointers. And OSU weathered the blows and came out with a home win — a mandatory home win — that revealed another positive development.

Backup point guard Fred Gulley, splitting time with Keiton Page in replacing Penn, played his best game yet. It was reminiscent of Saturday, when Nick Sidorakis emerged with a breakout game.

“(Gulley) made plays tonight,” said Cowboys coach Travis Ford. “His offense came by making plays, not by him trying to create something himself. That’s not his game. He got it by a back-door layup. He got it off a tip-in. he made free throws. That’s what he needs to do. And he can do that, because he’s athletic and he’s long. We need some of that out of him. That’s a huge bonus when we can get a few points out of him, because our team struggles at times to score.

“Just as Nick did last game, I thought Fred did this game. When you’re trying to just survive and piece minute-by-minute together, the way we’re doing, you’ve to have guys step up that may not normally be scoring a lot of points or playing a lot of minutes. You’ve got to have that.”