OSU beat Incarnate Word 91-60 on Monday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU outscored the Cardinals 17-2 in the game’s first 5:26. Cowboy guard Luka Bogavac made a three-pointer at the end of the first half to send OSU into the break up by 31 points.
Four Cowboys: Bogavac, forward Jordan Burks, guard Parker Robinson and senior Andrij Grbovic scored in double figures. Bogavac led with 14.
The 31-point win is OSU’s largest margin of victory in Lutz’ first two full seasons as head coach. It tops a 27-point win against Prairie View A&M in November 2025.
Here’s what we learned from the game:
Oklahoma State’s defense takes a step in the right direction, for one half
Incarnate Word scored 17 points in the first half.
The first half was a massive step forward for OSU’s defense. The Cowboys held UIW to 29.2% shooting from the field and created 12 turnovers.
In the second half, the Cardinals scored 43 points
“We’ve got to make the first half our DNA for 40 minutes,” Lutz said. “I’m not taking anything away from Incarnate Word, but we lost the second half and that’s unacceptable. If we can do it for 18 of 20 minutes then you should be able to replicate that for 40 minutes. That’s got to be our mantra and that’s got to be our goal.”
In three exhibition games, OSU allowed 99 points to New Mexico, 85 points against Tulsa and 82 against Wisconsin for an average of 88.6 points per game.
OSU’s defensive effort in those contests was a point of emphasis for Lutz, who has put his energy into improving a defense that ranked No. 354 in total defense last season, allowing 83.2 points per game.
Senior point guard Kanye Clary is still out with injury
Clary is dealing with a hamstring injury and didn’t play in any of OSU’s exhibition games.
Monday, Clary suited up but didn’t go through warmups.
Lutz said Clary’s status is day-to-day.
“We’re not going to rush him, obviously,” Lutz said. “We’re going to try and make sure we’re as cautious as we can with being as aggressive as we can. He’s practicing and some days it feels better than others and that’s the tricky thing about groin injuries and stuff like that.
"Really, there’s no measurement stick where you can say you’re at this point you need to play. So, Kanye is a person who fought through injuries last year so he deserves some credibility and leeway here and we’re going to give it to him.”
Clary started 31 of OSU’s 35 games last season. He led OSU with 157 assists and was second with 40 steals.
Jacob Walker did a fine job distributing at point guard without Clary
In Clary’s absence, sophomore guard Jacob Walker operated as the primary ballhandler.
He made eight assists and came up with four steals.
Walker, a transfer from Sam Houston, tied both the assists and steals record for a player making their Cowboy basketball debut. The assist mark tied Kendall Smith (2017), Stevie Clark (2013), Doug Gottlieb (1997) and Andre Owens (1994).
“I think just about everything (went well distributing the ball),” Walker said. “We got guys that can make shots and it made it a lot easier for me to make it easier for them. I was just taking what the defense gave me. It was nothing special."
Ben Hutchens covers OSU athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Ben? He can be reached at bhutchens@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ben_hutchens_. Sign up for OSU Sports Minute newsletter to access more coverage of the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Support Ben's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball rolls past Incarnate Word for biggest win of Steve Lutz era