STILLWATER – Oklahoma State struggled down the stretch of the second half, going scoreless the final three minutes of the game against Wichita State to drop its second game of the season, 60-51.
With the loss, the Cowboys move to 6-2 on the year and will face Xavier this coming Sunday, December 5 at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.
Avery Anderson III led the way for the Pokes as he finished with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He did, however, turn the ball over seven times.
Bryce Thompson was second on the stat sheet for the Pokes as he finished with nine points, but with four turnovers.
The Cowboys started out the hot as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the Shockers, who made their first bucket on a jumper from Ricky Council IV at the 14:21 mark of the first half. However, the Shockers came roaring back to take their first lead of the day, 15-14 just five minutes later.
It was a back-and-forth affair the remainder of the first half as the Cowboys went on a quick 10-0 run to get the lead back, 25-19. The Shockers would go on a run of their own, 12-4, to finish the first half wth a 31-29 lead.
The Cowboys, once again, came out hot as they started the second half on another 10-0 to jump up 39-31. Turnovers and poor shooting from the free throw line would doom the remainder of the game as they’d turn the ball over 11 times and go just 5-of-11 from the charity stripe. The Cowboys also scored just eight points in the paint. While the Cowboys went scoreless the last 2:53 of the game on 0-of-9 shooting, it was mirrored by an 8-0 run by the Shockers the final 1:54 to finish the game.
The Cowboys are back in action this coming Sunday, December 5, as they’ll host Xavier at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.