Guard Jeff Newberry gave Oklahoma State a much-needed lift Monday night to help the Cowboys finally shake Arkansas-Pine Bluff 86-72 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

Newberry played stat-sheet stuffer, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and four steals. Point guard Jawun Evans scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half as Oklahoma State improved to 2-0.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff, falling to 1-1, rode the 21 points of guard JoVaughn Love to keep close for much of the night. Love made 8 of 14 shots, with two 3-pointers. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

The Lions trailed by just one, 32-31, at halftime and were within seven points on several occasions in the second half. It was 69-62 with just under five minutes left, when the Cowboys finally began to extend the lead.

Oklahoma State dominated the boards in the first 20 minutes.

The Cowboys out-rebounded Pine Bluff 23-14 and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, yet only converted them into seven second-chance points. The Cowboys shot just 35.3 percent from the floor, struggling against the Lions' trapping zone.

Love scored 11 first-half points on 5 of 7 shooting and had 11 of the starting line-up's 12 points. The Lions, however, owned a 19-8 edge in bench scoring.