Mike Boynton took a few gulps of water, briefly fixed his eyes on the stat sheet in front of him and matter-of-factly began his postgame commentary.
“Just another night in the Big 12,” Boynton, the Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach, said.
Iowa State propelled past his young Cowboy squad 69-63 on Wednesday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena, handing OSU a loss in its first conference game of the season. Although the chance for victory slipped away from the Cowboys (6-7 overall, 0-1 Big 12), they didn’t let the Cyclones trample them.
“I thought for all the concerns about not having a bunch of experienced guys playing in this league, we played like a team that had been through games like this,” Boynton said.