• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Smart shines as Oklahoma State routs Memphis

Nov 20, 2013 - 7:28 AM Stillwater, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - If this is the first of two potential meetings in a two-week span between Oklahoma State and Memphis, what will Marcus Smart have in store for an encore?

Smart scored 26 of his career-high 39 points in the first half as No. 7 Oklahoma State routed No. 11 Memphis, 101-80, in the non-bracketed round of the Old Spice Classic on Tuesday night.

These schools may meet again in Orlando over Thanksgiving weekend. Both are on opposite sides of the Old Spice Classic bracket.

Smart, whose previous career high was 28 against Oklahoma on Feb. 16, was 11-of-21 from the floor and tallied five steals and four rebounds for the Cowboys (4-0). Markel Brown added 20 points in the triumph.

"Words can't even explain," Smart said of his performance. "I think this is my first 30-point game in my career, and it's amazing. It was a great team win out there."

Freshman Nick King finished with 23 points and eight rebounds for Memphis (1-1), which shot just 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from beyond the arc.

"I've been saying it to my beat writer for a long time now, I believe for our team to be great, which I believe we can be great, tonight I didn't see that coming, how they played," Tigers head coach Josh Pastner said.

Smart showcased his entire repertoire in the early stages. Highlighted by a four-point play and a two-handed dunk to finish a break, the super sophomore tallied 15 of his team's first 20 points as the Cowboys built a four-point lead midway through the first half.

Then Smart and the Cowboys surged ahead for good following a 13-2 run.

Smart sunk all his free throws after being fouled on a 3, he nailed a right wing triple coming off a screen and then knocked down another trey from the right wing in transition.

After Smart poked the ball away from Michael Dixon Jr., three Memphis defenders converged on him before he missed a 3, but Brian Williams was wide open underneath for the putback. Williams then capped the burst with a pair of free throws for a 35-20 Oklahoma State margin with 7:31 left until the half.

Smart had 24 points at this point.

"Those kinds of moments are special. He was definitely feeling it," Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford said. "He made some really tough shots, and sometimes those aren't really ones you want taken, but you've got to go with him. When he's feeling it, he knows it."

OK State headed into the locker room with a 50-32 advantage and cruised to the easy victory over the final 20 minutes.

Smart threw down an alley-oop for his career high-tying 28th point to make it 56-36 and his fifth triple of the night set his new personal best and extended the gap to 64-43 with 14:21 remaining.

The Cowboys led by as many as 34 down the stretch.

Game Notes

Oklahoma State beat Memphis in the last showdown between the teams, 70-53, in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament ... Smart's 39 points tied a school sophomore record ... Williams had 15 points and eight rebounds.