STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- It was easy to see Saturday why Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton says depth may be his team's greatest asset.

The Cowboys (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) got only three points from leading scorer Desmond Mason and Glendon Alexander, who has been averaging nearly 14 points off the bench. Yet Brian Montonati and others came through in a 55-47 victory over Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener for both teams.

Montonati had 14 points and 14 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season. Alex Webber, who was in danger of losing his starting job because of recent poor play, had 11 points, and Fredrik Jonzen had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

"They did what a great team will do," Tech coach James Dickey said. "They had four guys in double figures and when their stars were not scoring, they had other people step up."

Joining Montonati, Webber and Jonzen in double figures was Joe Adkins, who was just 3-of-12 from the field but scored 10 points including a crucial 3-pointer in the closing minutes.

The Cowboys (12-1) shot a season-low 36 percent. Mason, who came in averaging 19.8 points per game, made a 3-pointer in the first half and that ended his production. He wound up 1-of-9 from the floor and finished with his lowest point total since Feb. 26, 1997, when he was shut out as a freshman at Nebraska.

But he did grab eight rebounds and was part of a defensive effort that held Texas Tech (8-3) to 27 percent shooting in the first half and 35 percent for the game.

"Holding a team to 47 points, when they are a very good offensive team, is saying a lot about our defense," Adkins said. "We struggled a lot offensively, so we depended a lot on our defense."

Andy Ellis, averaging 18 points per game, scored only nine for the Red Raiders. He missed the final 9:25 of the first half after injuring his tailbone while scoring his only basket of the half.

The defensive intensity was evident from the start. Each team went four trips without a basket and didn't get much better. The Cowboys only led 22-18 at halftime.

"I thought that first 20 minutes, we might have set Big 12 basketball back a ways," Sutton said. "Offensively I thought both teams were really stagnant."

Oklahoma State was able to put together an 11-0 run early in the second half to take its largest lead, 35-22. Montonati scored six as the Cowboys got points on five out of six possessions. But then they scored just two points in the next 7½ minutes.

The Red Raiders scored nine points during that stretch to cut the deficit to 37-31. Later, a three-point play by Ellis got them within five with 5:46 to play.

But Jonzen scored inside and Alexander made his only bucket, a 3-pointer, to push the lead to 10. The Red Raiders got within 50-44 in the final two minutes before Adkins made a 3-pointer with two seconds on the shot clock and 1:08 to play to seal the outcome.

"Joe Adkins just hit a huge shot that was a dagger to us late," Dickey said. "His percentage is not great, but he's money and a timely shooter, and we knew that going in."

Rayford Young had 13 points and Mario Layne 10 for the Red Raiders.