Freshman Phil Forte scored a career high 26 points Saturday, Jan. 26 2013 as Oklahoma State rolled past West Virginia in a 80-66 win.
Forte was wearing No. 13 for the first time after switching from No. 10 last week. In a strange twist of numbers and dates, he had his best game after making the switch. The switch came about after school officials remembered last week that the No.10 had been retired in 2010.
That number was retired to remember the 10 people related to the basketball program who were killed on Jan. 27, 2001 in a plane crash. The number was retired at a ceremony but apparently no one remembered when Forte came to the school and chose No. 10 for his uniform number. Adding to the irony, he has his best game a day before the anniversary of the crash.
Forte has been one of the main scorers for the Cowboys this year, so it was not too surprising to see him score a lot of points. But he had not scored more than 22 before this game.
"I can't complain, 13 worked well today. I'm going to stay with that number. I understand the circumstance, it's out of my control, and there's nothing I could do about it and it's for a good reason." Forte said.
Forte hit three 3-pointers in a 19-3 run late in the half that erased a 13-point deficit. In the second half the Cowboys dominated and rolled to the relatively easy win. Markel Brownadded 24 points.
• Forte connected on six three pointers, matching his career high. He also dished out a career-high four assists with no turnovers in 30 minutes. Forte is 24 of 26 from the line in Big 12 play, good for 92.3 percent.
• Forte's 26 points are the most by a Cowboy this season.
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