New York ? Two top-five teams known for their different styles of defense were even for 34 minutes.

Then Oklahoma State took over, and the fifth-ranked Cowboys beat No. 4 Syracuse, 74-60, Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic.

“That second half we probably played as well as we can play,” Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. “That first half, I told them they played like they had never been coached. That first half was one of the worst halves I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

Stephen Graham scored 16 points, including two three-point plays in the final 41/2 minutes, for Oklahoma State (6-0), which pulled away from a 45-all tie with 6:32 to play as the Orange (7-1) couldn’t hit from the field or the free-throw line.

“That was a tremendous, physical defensive battle,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “We played defensively as well as we can tonight.”

John Lucas hit a three-pointer — his first field goal of the game — to break that last tie and start a 17-4 run that included Graham’s two big plays.

Ivan McFarlin scored with 2:20 to go to cap the run and give Oklahoma State a 62-49 lead.

“We call ourselves the road warriors and this was a great win on the road,” Graham said.

Gerry McNamara hit three threes in the closing 1:23 to get Syracuse within 66-60, but the Orange couldn’t get any closer.

Oklahoma State's John Lucas drives for a layup as Syracuse's Hakim Warrick (1) defends. The Cowboys won, 74-60, Tuesday in New York.

McFarlin and Joey Graham each had 16 points for Oklahoma State and McFarlin 12 rebounds as the Cowboys finished with a 46-33 advantage on the boards.

“We were worried about how we handle them on the boards and we did a good job,” Sutton said. “We can really build off this and gain some confidence. This is a veteran team that went to the Final Four and they have to play like they did last year and they did that in the second half.”

Josh Pace had 20 points, two off his career-high, for Syracuse, while McNamara had 18 and Hakim Warrick 13. Warrick, a career 64-percent free-throw shooter, was just 5-for-13 from the line.

No. 14 Texas 86, North Texas 57

Austin, Texas — Brad Buckman scored 18 points and blocked seven shots, leading No. 14 Texas.

Buckman recorded his first two blocks in the first two minutes and came up one short of the school record.

The Longhorns (6-1), who have shot three-pointers with abandon early this season, did most of their damage in the paint against North Texas (3-3). Jason Klotz had 14 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 12.

Colorado 63, California 60

Berekley, Calif. — Chris Copeland scored all 11 of his points after halftime, and Colorado rallied with a big second half to win at California for the first time in eight meetings.

Richard Roby scored twice in the final 2:47 and also had a late steal for Colorado, sending the Golden Bears to their second narrow defeat at home in a week after a 73-72 loss to UNLV on Nov. 30. Marcus Hall scored with 12.2 seconds left for the Buffaloes (3-2).

Texas Tech 81, Northern Arizona 65

Lubbock, Texas — Martin Zeno, Ronald Ross and Curtis Marshall each scored 16 points, leading Texas Tech over Northern Arizona.

The Red Raiders (5-1) broke the game open late in the second half with a 21-5 run during an eight-minute stretch. Northern Arizona (4-4) led throughout much of the first half.

Women

Nebraska 69, Tennessee-Martin 60

Lincoln, Neb. — Nebraska scored the first eight points of the game and never was threatened in beating Tennessee-Martin. NU’s Kiera Hardy had 20 points and six rebounds.