Nov. 23, 2011
NEW YORK (AP) - Josh Owens made his first nine shots from the field and finished with a game-high 21 points to lead Stanford to an 82-67 victory over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
Owens was 10 of 12 from the field as the Cardinal (5-0) had its best game of the season from beyond the 3-point line, finishing 9-19.
Chasson Randle added a career-high 17 points and Aaron Bright contributed 15 for the Cardinal, which took control with an 18-0 run that spanned both halves.
Stanford outrebounded Oklahoma State 40-29 and forced the Cowboys (3-1) into 14 turnovers.
Backed by 55.9 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes, Stanford built a 46-35 halftime lead.
Stanford scored the last six points of the first half to take a 46-35 lead and the Cardinal opened the second half on a 12-0 run. Stanford connected on four of its nine 3-pointers during the spurt.
The Cardinal's biggest lead came at the 9:12 mark of the second half, going in front 70-42 following a triple from Randle.
Stanford is now 10-3 all-time in Preseason NIT competition and 8-2 in games played at Madison Square Garden.
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NOTES: The Cardinal will play the winner of No. 5 Syracuse-Virginia Tech on Friday in the championship game at 2 p.m. PT ... Continuing its season trend of impressive team rebounding, Stanford held a 40-29 edge on the glass. Five different players pulled down at least four boards ... Owens' first missed shot came at the 15:40 mark of the second half ... Owens' 17 first-half points were the most for a Stanford player in any half since Landry Fields poured in 20 of his career-high 35 points in the second period in a loss at UCLA on Feb. 4, 2010 ... Stanford picked up its first win over Oklahoma State. The teams were meeting for the third straight year with the Cowboys prevailing in both previous games ... Redshirt junior Andy Brown appeared in his first collegiate game, checking into the contest during the final nine seconds. After suffering three ACL tears to his left knee over the last three seasons, Brown had yet to take the court in a Stanford uniform ... Andrew Zimmermann scored Stanford's opening bucket for the second straight game.