On an emotional day for the Oklahoma State basketball program, prized freshman Cade Cunningham got his team across the finish line.
Cunningham, expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, hit a jumper with 21.3 seconds left to break a tie, and the Cowboys downed Arkansas 81-77 on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
“I thought it was a great college basketball game, and I feel better saying that now after a win than having been on the other side,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “Both teams played really hard. There’s a lot of talented young guys out there making plays on both sides of the floor.
“And it went like we thought, an exciting game with a lot of points scored and we would have to figure out how we could get one more stop than the other team late, and we were able to do that.”
Oklahoma State (11-4) honored the 10 players, coaches and support staff who died in a plane crash in 2001 and also the late Eddie Sutton, a former Arkansas and Cowboys coach who was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
“It is pretty hard to quantify, really, how much this day means to our program,” Boynton said. “And because it means so much to our program, it has to mean equally as much to me. I’m a pretty lucky dude to be able to grace the sideline as the head coach in this building, a place where Mr. (Henry) Iba basically in many ways invented the game as it will be played, especially on the defensive end. His pupil, Coach Sutton, raised the level of this program.”
Boyton took over at Oklahoma State in 2017 and cherishes being the coach in Stillwater.
“I sometimes like to think about how I got here and it’s because I’ve had really, really good people with me," he said. "I’ve been really fortunate to have great mentors that are really good to work with, good coaches, really good players and today I’m glad we’re able to put a smile on the families of the people who lost their lives 20 years ago, and to do it against a program that Coach Sutton coached as well."
Boynton thanked Arkansas coach Eric Musselman for participating in the ceremony honoring Sutton.
“Obviously felt honored we were able to put a Hall of Fame stamp on our court for Coach Sutton,” Boynton said. “It’s a big deal. It should have happened in like 2007 or whenever he stopped coaching on it, but it says 2020 on it and that’s fine. Certainly thankful we were able to play and hopefully put a smile on the faces of the people whose families lost loved ones 20 years ago as we played to Remember the 10.”
Boynton wasn’t sure his players understood the gravity of the “Remember the 10” ceremony but he tried to get that across.
"They’re pretty young guys and young guys tend to be a little bit more oblivious to things like this, but I have a responsibility to do everything I can to bring awareness to it and to let them understand the gravity of what Coach Sutton meant to our program and continues to mean to our program and the game of basketball,” Boynton said. “We don’t do anything for no reason and most of the things we do have great meaning.
“I remember the only time I really had a conversation with Coach Sutton. It was at his house about two weeks after I got the job. He asked us to do two things, which was play defense and to take care of the Cowboy basketball program. We’re doing our best to make sure we hold that promise.”
The game featured two former Montverde (Fla.) Academy teammates in Cunningham and Arkansas guard Moses Moody, who is also expected to be a 2021 first-round pick if he chooses to enter the NBA draft.
Justin Smith had 18 points, Moody 17, JD Notae 14 and Davonte Davis 12 for Arkansas (13-5).
“They've got a bunch of really good players,” Cunningham said. “Coach Mussleman is a really good coach, so knowing that going in, we knew we were going to have to come in prepared and definitely not take them lightly. They came off a couple wins in a row, so we knew that they were going to want to come in and compete and win. I think we did a good job sticking to the game plan and playing hard.”
Cunningham, who had his team’s last six points and 14 in second half, missed the previous two games due to covid-19 protocols and came off the bench.
He also added seven rebounds and five assists in a game that Arkansas led late and had a chance to take a lead on Connor Vanover’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3.8 seconds left.
“I just had fun today,” Cunningham said. “I’m glad to be back. I think just going out there and having fun hooping was, I mean, that's all I really cared about. And coming out with the win was the cherry on top.”