Nov. 23—STILLWATER — Oklahoma State was finally firing on all cylinders.

For Charleston — a strong program in the Colonial Athletic Association that just pushed No. 18-ranked North Carolina — that was really bad news.

The Cowboys dominated Charleston 96-66 Monday night inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, playing a complete ballgame all around that left little doubt what is possible when clicking.

“I think when we are at our best, that’s what it will look like,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said.

OSU (5-1) had six players score in double figures, blocked a program-best 16 shots, shot better than 56% overall and forced 28 turnovers. Oh, and the Cowboys put on a dunk show.

All in all, it was a banner night following a five-day layover.

Next up for the Cowboys: An in-state matchup at NCAA Cinderella Oral Roberts at 3 p.m. Friday inside the Mabee Center.

Lob Stilly returns

OSU veteran Isaac Likekele had the isolation as time ticked away on the first-half clock. He even drew some help from a Charleston defender.

That opened the basket for 6-foot-10 Moussa Cisse. So, Likekele lofted a pass and Cisse leaped, catching it off the backboard bounce and delivering a menacing two-handed dunk over Babacar Faye to end the first half on an 8-0 run.

The play was tweeted out by SportsCenter. Likekele even posted the backboard bounce was intentional, though Boynton wasn’t quite as committed. “Uh, I wish he was in here to say that,”

“Uh, I wish he was in here to say that,” Boynton said. “I’m sure he would say, ‘Yeah.’ ... No, I never design plays to go off the backboard.”

But the dunk show continued from there.

The Cowboys had nine overall, including four alley-oop dunks. Cisse had three, while Kalib Boone had another.

And the highlight was a wild onehanded slam by Bryce Williams on a fastbreak over a leaping Ben Burnham.

“I don’t think he jumped, did he?” Williams asked in postgame.

When informed that Burnham did, Williams had a short response.

“Oh,” he said. “That’s what happens.” This all brought back memories of the day “Lob Stilly” ruled Gallagher-Iba Arena with high fliers like Markel Brown, Brian Williams, Le’Bryan Nash and Michael Cobbins.

The group is different now. They might even try to come up with a new name.

Either way, it sure is fun.

“It’s back,” Boynton said. “We got a few more lob plays we haven’t shown yet, but none of them go off the backboard.”

Bryce Williams, the difference maker

Williams said he was just taking care of the help side.

Either way, the basketball got nowhere close to the basket.

With less than 10 minutes remaining, Charleston’s Brenden Tucker went to the left side of the basket aiming for a layup. Only Williams leapt and swatted the basketball into the third row of the sideline stands.

“I don’t know, bro,” Williams said. “I just did help side and blocked the ball. And then they gave me a technical for saying, ‘Give me that sh ...”

He tailed off.

Williams did earn a technical afterward for his words in the moment. He admitted to saying it, too.

In four games since returning from a two-game suspension due to his arrest and charges from a DUI in August, Williams has made his presence known in a variety of ways.

But his overall game shined Monday.

“I’m just proud of him for showing the growth and maturity that he’s shows since he had the incident this fall to accept responsibility for but to be able to move forward and understand that, you know, don’t take things for granted,” Boynton said. “This is his last opportunity to play college athletics and try to make the most of it.

“He’s been a great teammate. And I’m thankful for him being here, and for his attitude about everything.”

In 22 minutes, Williams, a supersenior, scored 13 points, grabbed two rebounds and totaled four assists. He also had three steals.

“I just put it on my teammates, how deep we are,” Williams said. “Usually teams got, like, eight or seven players. We got a legit 12 or 13. I just put it on them and my coaches. It has nothing to do with me.”

Block party

The Cowboys have three centers.

Read it again.

Three centers.

With the most depth in the low post during Boynton’s tenure, OSU is a different team. The offense runs through the low post. So does the defense.

The Cowboys had 16 blocks, tying a program record set in 1989 against Bedlam rival OU.

Moussa Cisse, Kalib Boone and Tyreek Smith combined for 28 points and 12 blocks.

“Pretty active frontline there,” Boynton said. “If you get that kind of production from those guys, that makes the game easier on your perimeter guys, it takes some pressure off them from having to make a bunch of shots.

“It’s smart to play through those guys when they’re going to be a lot closer to the basket and make the game easier. I think when we play through them, I don’t know if we’ll shoot 50% from 3 every night, but the numbers will definitely go up.”

The Cowboys did make 9 of 18 3-pointers.

Avery Anderson III and Bryce Thompson scored 15 points apiece. For Thompson it was a career high. Isaac Likekele also had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

They benefited from the bigs playing so well.