Oklahoma State's Senior Day Upset Bid of No. 7 Houston Comes Up Short 82-75

STILLWATER – Leading by as many as 13 points in the first half, Oklahoma State’s upset bid of No. 7 Houston came up short as the Cowboys fell away late for an 82-75 loss on Senior Day. 

With the loss, the Cowboys fell to 18-13 overall on the season and 6-12 in Big 12 play.

The game took a turn with 8:55 left to go in the game. Chris Cenac drilled a jumper to tie the game at 60. Ben Ahmed gave the Pokes the lead back with an emphatic dunk on the next possession.

It was nearly two minutes later, but Houston’s Fleming drilled a three to give the Cougars a one-point lead, 63-62. Ahmed was once again good in the paint as he gave the Pokes the lead back with a layup but was called for a technical foul as he was talking on his way back to the defensive end. 

That’s when the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to go up 73-64. The Cowboys went on a 7-0 run a few minutes later, but two points was the closest they could get as the Cougars put the game away with two free throws by Sharp to make it 82-75.

Anthony Roy led the Cowboys with 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the floor with four rebounds. Kanye Clary finished with 14 points, six rebounds and four assists, but also had four turnovers. Jaylen Curry finished with 13 points and six rebounds, and freshman Ben Ahmed finished with a season-high 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

As a team, the Cowboys shot nearly 41 percent from the floor compared to 51 percent from the Cougars. They did, however, shoot 89 percent from the free throw line on 17-for-19 shooting. 

There was a pretty big discrepancy in terms of points off turnovers as the Cowboys turned it over 11 times for 21 points on the other end, while the Cougars turned it over nine times for just six points for the Pokes. 

The Cowboys outrebounded Houston 36-33, including a 13-9 clip on the offensive glass for 18 second chance points to just nine for the Cougars. But it was the Cougars who posted 28 bench points to 26 and 30 points in the paint to 24 for the Pokes.