Abou Ousmane came off the bench to make his first eight shots Thursday night, scoring 18 points as Oklahoma State held off Southern Illinois 85-78 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Ousmane shot 8-for-10 overall, while fellow reserve Brandon Newman went 7-for-9, which also accounted for 18 points. Marchelus Avery scored 11 points off the bench and Bryce Thompson contributed 10 points for the Cowboys (3-0).

Oklahoma State held a 57-19 edge in bench points, outscored the Salukis 23-2 in transition and converted 18 turnovers into 30 points.

Elijah Elliott scored 21 points for Southern Illinois (1-2), while Kennard Davis added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. Ali Dibba scored 12 points.

Davis’ layup tied the game at 49 with 13:35 remaining, but the Cowboys blew the game open with a 27-9 burst that lasted nearly seven minutes. Newman and Avery each drained two 3-pointers during the outburst, making the score 76-58 with 6:56 left.

The Salukis drew within 82-78 with 24 seconds left after a 16-2 run, with all 16 points coming from Davis and Dibba, but they could get no closer.

The main pregame storyline was whether Southern Illinois could get three wins in as many years against Oklahoma State. The Salukis jumped ahead 10-2 on Antwuan Massey’s layup before the Cowboys found some leverage offensively and kept the defense in check.

Oklahoma State began forcing turnovers against a Southern Illinois team that had scored just 21 goals in the two games. The Salukis finished the first half with 10 giveaways.

Thompson’s 3-pointer at the 8:34 mark made it 19-16, the Cowboys’ first lead of the night, and the game went back and forth for the rest of the first half. Elliott hit a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to pull Southern Illinois within 38-37 at the break.

–Field-level media