‘It’s Bedlam in here’: Cade Cunningham’s career-high 40 points elevates Cowboys to upset victory
The origins of the phrase “Bedlam” when used to describe this rivalry is unclear.
The Oklahoma State website said that it was first used by a newspaper reporter in 1917, emerging from a wrestling duel and said “it’s bedlam in there!” The Oklahoman’s John Rohde contradicts that, saying it wasn’t published until 1943.
Regardless of the origin, the chaos that is attributed to the word often lives up to historic rivalry.
Today was no different.
OSU defeated the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners 94-90 in overtime at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman among a crowd of 2,929.
Cade Cunningham led the way for the Cowboys, scoring a career-high 40 points Saturday afternoon and grabbing 11 rebounds.
“I still went into the game with the same intensity,” Cunningham said. “Play to win. My team trusted me throughout the game.”
The Cowboys shot only 40% from the field in the first half, entering halftime down 38-31. The deficit grew to 10 once the second half started before Cunningham, alongside Bryce Williams, began to dig them out of the hole.
Williams finished with 15 points, six of which came from back-to-back threes that pulled the Cowboys to within one midway through the second.
“Bryce’s two threes were huge to kind of keep us there,” coach Mike Boynton said. “It continued to take pressure off (Cunningham).”
Williams was unavailable after the game, but Cunningham said that the team has come to expect this from Williams.
“(Bryce had) confidence,” Cunningham said. “He stepped into his shots and let them fly like we’re used to seeing him do.”
The teams traded buckets for the final 10 minutes, and with nine seconds left, OU’s Brady Manek deposited a rebound into the net to tie the game at 75, sending the game to overtime.
Cunningham scored 10 of the Cowboys 19 points in OT, and an offensive rebound by Kalib Boone with 19 seconds left sealed the upset victory for the Cowboys.
“The play of the game might have been Kalib Boone getting the offensive rebound and preserving the possession,” Boynton said.
De’Vion Harmon led the Sooners with 23 points, with junior Austin Reaves a close second at 22.
Rebounding and free throws were crucial for OSU, grabbing 45 boards to the Sooners 28 and shooting 88% from the charity stripe to the OU’s 70%.
Playing with what Boynton calls “competitive stamina,” the ability to play harder for longer is something Avery Anderson said was a big role in OSU’s overtime victory, and a key reason they are 4-0 in games that go to overtime.
“We’ve been in this situation plenty of times,” Anderson said. “We executed on offense and got stopped on the defensive end.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
- Dean Ruhl, Staff Reporter, @the_ruhl_book
- Feb 27, 2021 Updated 16 hrs ago
The origins of the phrase “Bedlam” when used to describe this rivalry is unclear.
The Oklahoma State website said that it was first used by a newspaper reporter in 1917, emerging from a wrestling duel and said “it’s bedlam in there!” The Oklahoman’s John Rohde contradicts that, saying it wasn’t published until 1943.
Regardless of the origin, the chaos that is attributed to the word often lives up to historic rivalry.
Today was no different.
OSU defeated the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners 94-90 in overtime at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman among a crowd of 2,929.
Cade Cunningham led the way for the Cowboys, scoring a career-high 40 points Saturday afternoon and grabbing 11 rebounds.
“I still went into the game with the same intensity,” Cunningham said. “Play to win. My team trusted me throughout the game.”
The Cowboys shot only 40% from the field in the first half, entering halftime down 38-31. The deficit grew to 10 once the second half started before Cunningham, alongside Bryce Williams, began to dig them out of the hole.
Williams finished with 15 points, six of which came from back-to-back threes that pulled the Cowboys to within one midway through the second.
“Bryce’s two threes were huge to kind of keep us there,” coach Mike Boynton said. “It continued to take pressure off (Cunningham).”
Williams was unavailable after the game, but Cunningham said that the team has come to expect this from Williams.
“(Bryce had) confidence,” Cunningham said. “He stepped into his shots and let them fly like we’re used to seeing him do.”
The teams traded buckets for the final 10 minutes, and with nine seconds left, OU’s Brady Manek deposited a rebound into the net to tie the game at 75, sending the game to overtime.
Cunningham scored 10 of the Cowboys 19 points in OT, and an offensive rebound by Kalib Boone with 19 seconds left sealed the upset victory for the Cowboys.
“The play of the game might have been Kalib Boone getting the offensive rebound and preserving the possession,” Boynton said.
De’Vion Harmon led the Sooners with 23 points, with junior Austin Reaves a close second at 22.
Rebounding and free throws were crucial for OSU, grabbing 45 boards to the Sooners 28 and shooting 88% from the charity stripe to the OU’s 70%.
Playing with what Boynton calls “competitive stamina,” the ability to play harder for longer is something Avery Anderson said was a big role in OSU’s overtime victory, and a key reason they are 4-0 in games that go to overtime.
“We’ve been in this situation plenty of times,” Anderson said. “We executed on offense and got stopped on the defensive end.”
sports.ed@ocolly.com
