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Lawrences help Missouri to upset of Oklahoma State

Feb 17, 2007 - 11:24 PM STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- The Lawrences had the inspiration Sean Sutton was looking for.

Keon Lawrence scored 18 points and Matt Lawrence contributed 15 as hot-shooting Missouri pulled away for a 75-64 Big 12 Conference victory over No. 21 Oklahoma State.

Picking the wrong time to play their worst basketball of the season, the Cowboys (19-7, 5-6) lost for the fourth time in five games and also had a 17-game home winning streak stopped.

The Cowboys' latest loss did not sit well with Sutton, who is in his first year as Oklahoma State coach.

"This was a tough loss and I feel for our fans to have to sit through that," Sutton said. "I told our guys that this was one of the least-inspired performances that I have ever seen one of our teams play in this arena in 17 years."

Keon Lawrence and Matt Lawrence added to the Cowboys' woes by combing to make 13-of-18 shots and 7-of-10 attempts from 3-point range.

Tied 35-35 at halftime, the Tigers (16-9, 5-7) took the lead for good less than five minutes into the second half. They kept the advantage by shooting 62.5 percent (15-of-24) over the final 20 minutes.

"It was a gutsy performance by our guys," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. "When you go on the road in this league, all you want to be is in position. I thought in the second half our guys really stepped up and made plays."

The Tigers shot 50 percent (28-of-56) overall to overcome 22 turnovers. They went an impressive 10-of-18 from the arc.

JamesOn Curry and Mario Boggan scored 16 points apiece for the Cowboys, who shot 41 percent (20-of-49) and committed 21 turnovers.

"We have been hearing from Coach that we are not a lock to make the NCAA Tournament," Boggan said. "Right now, we are struggling."

Using their pressing style, the Tigers pulled ahead for good early in second half with a 16-6 burst. Keon Lawrence and Matt Lawrence each buried 3-pointers in the spurt, which was capped by Leo Lyons' dunk with 13:06 remaining.

Curry made a jumper and two free throws and Boggan converted a layup to pull the Cowboys back within 55-50 with 10:39 left.

However, Keon Lawrence threw down a dunk and Matt Lawrence drilled a 3-pointer as the Tigers rebuilt the lead to double digits. The Cowboys got no closer than seven points thereafter.

The finish was a lot stronger than the start for the Tigers, who trailed by 11 points less than five minutes into the contest. But they used a 13-4 run to claw their way back into the game.

"We were up 14-3 and we had them on the ropes," Sutton said. "I thought we had a chance to really extend the lead out and we missed some easy shots during that time. We were slow getting back in transition and they got back in the game. You could look at their team and the expressions on their faces totally changed from a team that was unsure to a team that was very confident. Our guys went the other way."