Daily Oklahoman

[50's PONY]

Bobik's hot shooting leads Cowboys past Mustangs
2004-01-04
By Francisco Ojeda
The Oklahoman


When Oklahoma State guard Daniel Bobik sees the opposing team play a zone defense, his eyes light up.
OSU 89, SMU 54

Storyline: Oklahoma State played its best offensive game of the year, shooting nearly 60 percent and making seven 3-pointers to rout SMU. The Cowboys went on a 15-1 run late in the first half and in a 10-minute stretch outscored SMU 32-9.
Star of the game: Guard Daniel Bobik scored 14 points and made four 3-pointers. He was named the MVP of the All- College Classic.

By Francisco Ojeda,
The Oklahoman

The smooth-shooting Bobik sure enjoyed it on Saturday, torching Southern Methodist for four 3-pointers and 14 points to help Oklahoma State beat the Mustangs 89-54 in the All-College Classic at the Ford Center.

"It's a lot easier to get my shots against a zone," Bobik said. "I love it when people play zone. I play pretty well without the ball, and guys like (OSU guard) John (Lucas) get me the ball in the right place and the right time."

His teammates sure did give him the ball in the right spots. Bobik connected on five of six shots from the field, including four of five from 3-point range. His performance helped Okla[hyphen] homa State turn the game into a rout and earn him the Most Valuable Player award of the All-College Classic.

"Coach (Eddie Sutton) calls it running a fe[hyphen] ver,'' Bobik said. "That's pretty much how I felt. I just thought every shot I was taking was going to go in. It was great."

SMU played much of the first half in a zone, and Oklahoma State knew who to get the ball to -- its best shooter.

"We talked about Bobik all week long in trying to practice for him," SMU coach Mike Dement said. "We told our guys what a great shooter he was. You seemingly give him half a look and he makes everything. He literally did just that in the first half."

Bobik is Oklahoma State's best 3-point shooter, coming into the game connecting on 14 3-pointers and shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. And it was his outside shooting that opened up the game. He made all four 3-point attempts in the first half, including three in a three-minute span late in the first half.

"It stunned our guys that he made four in a row," Dement said. "He really opened it up for them and we had to try to chase him a little bit, and next thing you know they are getting layups and dunks."

Bobik wasn't the only one making shots, with six Cowboys finishing in double figures.

The entire team followed Bobik's lead as the Cowboys shot 59.7 percent. It was even better in the first half, when the Cowboys connected on 62 percent of their shots and hit seven of eight 3-pointers to build a commanding 46-25 halftime lead.

The best stretch came midway through the first half with Oklahoma State leading just 18-16. In the next 10 minutes, including the first minute in the second half, the Cowboys went on a 32-9 run, helped by the 3.

Oklahoma State made five 3-pointers during that stretch, including three by Bobik, for a 50-25 lead.

"With Bobik out there, he is always going to hit it," Lucas said. "That's money. He's always working on his shot every day after practice, before practice, always shooting around. That's why we go to him. We know he is going to hit it."

Bobik's shooting quickly changed SMU's strategy. The Mustangs switched out of the zone for the rest of the game. SMU never got within 21 points of the Cowboys the rest of the second half.

"I thought that was the best game we've played this year," Sutton said. "Anytime you shoot the ball as well as we did, it has a tendency to camouflage anything that you might not be doing well."


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