Today is the second anniversary of one of NSU's greatest basketball wins -- the 68-64 triumph over Oklahoma State at storied Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.
NSU alumnus John Mallory, who lives in Oklahoma City, brought his son and a buddy to the game and sat right behind the Demon bench. Other than our bus driver and his wife, and former NSU basketball assistant coach Jack Hearron, there may not have been anybody cheering for the Demons that night at GIA.
That is as intense a setting as there is in college basketball. When the Oklahoma State students get going, the floor actually vibrates. The players can feel it.
It had been eight years since a non-conference visitor won there. The legendary coach Eddie Sutton was on the OSU bench. The team was loaded with talent, not far removed from a Final Four trip, and was on the brink of breaking into the Top 25 rankings.
Then Mike McConathy's Demons of Destiny came calling. The way they took command of the game, and made the plays to withstand a great rally by the Cowboys, will always resonate in NSU history.
Two days from now, Dec. 7, is the 18th anniversary of the 85-82 win in Rupp Arena over Kentucky. That, truly, was an upset. NSU over Oklahoma State two years ago? As Eddie Sutton said himself, "this was no fluke."
That was proven out at season's end, when the Demons were among the nation's top 32 teams.
Doug Ireland, SID
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