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Boggan, Oklahoma State cruise past Ball State

Dec 10, 2006 - 2:16 AM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Apparently, a cross-country trip didn't affect Mario Boggan's shooting stroke.

Boggan scored 24 points and JamesOn Curry battled through a tough shooting night to add 11 as 24th-ranked Oklahoma State cruised to a 75-56 victory over Ball State in the San Diego Slam.

Terrel Harris and David Monds scored 10 points apiece for the Cowboys (11-0), who shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and 10-of-21 from the arc.

"We've still got some things to work on but we are getting better," Harris said. "We're better at this point than we were last year and we're better than we were last game. We've just got to learn how to keep our intensity up and play the same every game."

On Tuesday, Boggan scored 21 points as Oklahoma State posted a 72-68 victory over Syracuse in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Four days and 3,000 miles later, the 6-7 senior shot 10-of-14 from the floor and 2-of-2 on 3-pointers.

"I don't really look to shoot that much, but if I get an open chance to knock down a long shot, then I'll take the shot," Boggan said. "I just try to get into a rhythm."

"At our second timeout, I introduced (Boggan) back to the players and they did a better job looking for him after that," Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton said. "That's one thing about this team, they're not selfish. They understand their roles, and they understand that (Boggan) can score about as well as anybody in the Big 12."

After netting 20 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer down the stretch against the Orange, Curry was just 3-of-11 from the field and 3-of-10 from the arc on Saturday.

"We talked a lot after the Syracuse game about how good teams move forward," Sutton said. "I told them on Wednesday that it was a good win, but now our focus and attention turns to Ball State. I thought our players had a lot of respect for (Ball State) before the game."

Julien Mills scored 15 points for the Cardinals (3-6), who shot 37.5 percent (18-of-48).

"I thought that there was progress," Ball State coach Ronny Thompson said. "We made them deal with us, as opposed to us just being here for happy time. I was proud of that. They came out and knocked down some shots and did the things you need to do to win. You can't take anything away from them, they're good."