'Just go be you': How Kalib Boone sparked OSU to Bedlam win over OU with guidance from twin Keylan
Jacob UnruhOklahoman
STILLWATER — Two days ago, Keylan Boone approached his twin brother, Kalib, like they have so many times in their lives with encouragement.
Lost mentally and physically the past month on the court, Kalib was almost at a breaking point after Oklahoma State’s loss at Kansas State.
He needed to hear from Keylan.
This time, it finally clicked.
“Just go be you,” Keylan said. “Regardless if you’re scoring or rebounding, just go be the KB that everybody knows.”
And that brought out the best in both twins when the Cowboys needed it most during a huge 64-55 victory over rival OU at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the first Bedlam matchup of the season, ending a four-game losing streak.
On a day the Cowboys dominated the interior with the Boones and Moussa Cisse, the twin duo from Tulsa Memorial High School combined for 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. They fulfilled — at least for one day — the vision OSU coach Mike Boynton had after he first started recruiting the twins when they were just 15 years old.
“For these kids, I thought by time they were juniors they’d be guys that we can count on and count on consistently,” Boynton said. “Haven’t got there yet, but I got all the faith in the world that with our staff and the character that they’ll keep making progress.”
OSU is back at .500 entering Tuesday’s game at TCU. The Cowboys also have four straight wins over their Bedlam rival, with the rematch in Norman three weeks away.
The Cowboys forced 11 second-half turnovers and held the Sooners to just 37.7% shooting. But OSU also thrived with its big men.
Combine the Boones with Cisse — who had 12 points, three rebounds and a block — and the Cowboys dominated from the inside.
OSU blocked eight shots and scored 34 points in the paint, just days after Kalib, Cisse, Tyreek Smith and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe scored two combined points in the loss at Kansas State.
“It was the major, major emphasis of the game,” Boynton said. “We can’t have games like we had the other day. They can’t get basically nothing out of that position from a production standpoint.
“And to their credit, they didn’t pout about that. They took it as a challenge. They were all very, very productive today.”
Especially the Boones.
Throughout the season, Keylan has been a spark for the Cowboys off the bench, either with his 3-point shooting or energy.
He was in the first half Saturday, scoring eight of his 10 points in the opening half while making two 3s.
Kalib, meanwhile, was still frustrated offensively. He had scored just 22 points in Big 12 play as his playing time dwindled. His post-up shots were wild against OU in the opening half. He went to the bench frustrated, even unaccepting of encouragement from Boynton.
But the message then was simple from the fifth-year coach: Do you believe you belong here in this moment right now?
Kalib hung tough.
He scored all of his 12 points in the second half, clicking with his smooth post-up moves against the combination of OU’s Tanner Groves and Ethan Chargois.
In a stretch of more than 5 minutes, Kalib scored all nine of OSU’s points, helping OSU maintain a lead it would not relent after Avery Anderson III made a go-ahead layup with 15:14 remaining.
With each play Kalib made, his energy improved. So did his teammates. They encouraged OSU coaches to continue running the offense through Kalib.
“He seemed to play with more joy today,” Boynton said.
And the Cowboys finally broke out of their skid.
So did Kalib Boone. It was perfectly timed.
“I was just so happy,” Kalib said. “I was happy for my guys. Bro, this is a game we don’t lose, plus it was ‘Remember the 10.’
“I never want to lose again like that kind of game in this jersey. Every time we play that, that just means everything oughta be turned up a notch.”
