Oklahoma State Drops Barn Burner to No. 4 Kansas, 69-67

After a dominant first half and incredibly tight second half, Oklahoma State came up short in the end as they lose to No. 4 Kansas, 69-67.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 8-5 on the season, and start Big 12 play 0-1.

Much as it had been for most of the second half, it was a tight game and came down to the final few minutes of the game.

Bryce Thompson hit one of his biggest buckets of the game just under two minutes left in the game as he rose up and nailed a 3-pointer to give the Pokes the lead back, 64-62, leading to Bill Self calling KU’s next-to-last timeout with 1:40 left in the game.

After a couple of missed buckets on either end, Kevin McCullar nailed a big corner three to give KU a one-point lead with :43 seconds left.

Trailing one, Mike Boynton called the Pokes’ final timeout with :32.7 left in the game to set up an offensive play with 17 remaining on the shot clock.

John-Michael Wright missed a wide-open three, followed by a foul sending Jalen Wilson to the free throw line with :23. Wilson made both free throws, putting KU back up three, 67-64.

Thompson nailed another 3-pointer, this one heavily contested to tie the game back up, 67-67. After a KU bucket to go up two, Avery Anderson III nearly turned the ball over under the Pokes’ bucket. It went out off KU with one second remaining, setting up one shot for the Pokes.

Anderson III got the ball into Thompson, who was fouled hard on his shot. It was, however, a no-call, with the Pokes unable to get another shot off after another in-bounds play.

Thompson led the way for the Pokes with 23 points, all of two points coming from beyond the 3-point line, going 7-of-10 from 3-point range and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.

Wright finished with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor, 4-of-9 from 3-point range.

As a team, the Cowboys shot 43% from the floor, as well as a better percentage from 3-point range, 45%.

It was easily one of the Cowboys’ best halves of basketball this season as they entered halftime with a 45-30 lead over the Jayhawks. The Cowboys jumped out to an 8-4 lead five minutes into the game, with Bryce Thompson and John Michael Wright both hitting 3-pointers.

The Jayhawks tied the game up at 13 at the 11:05 mark, but the Cowboys answered by going on a quick 8-0 run over the next two minutes to go up 21-13.

Both Thompson and Wright scored double figures in the first half, each posting 14 points apiece, Thompson on 4-of-6 shooting beyond the 3-point range, Wright 5-of-8 from the floor, 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Wright hit a big 3-point bucket as the clock hit all zeros to put the Pokes up by their largest lead of the game.

As a team, the Cowboys shot 55% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range, while forcing 11 turnovers on the other end, compared to just six turnovers on the other end. What helped the Pokes get to a 15-point halftime lead was scoring 20 points off the KU turnovers.

The Jayhawks came out of the break on first as they scored five quick points to cut the Pokes lead to 10, 45-35. While the Pokes didn’t hit a bucket in the first three and a half minutes, Thompson continued his success from 3-point range as he nailed a huge bucket at the 16:30 mark.

KU started the second half on a 13-3 run, cutting the Pokes’ lead to just five points, 48-43, at the media timeout at the 14:25 mark.

Thompson picked up his fourth foul of the game just under the 14-minute mark of the second half, right before KU hit another 3-pointer, cutting the Pokes lead to just two, 48-46.

Woody Newton hit a big bucket on the other end to give the Pokes’ their fourth and fifth points of the half but took an unnecessary deep 3-pointer before being pulled.

The Jayhawks made it a one-point game at the 12-minute mark, then took their first lead since the 18-minute mark of the game, 2-0, with a 3-pointer from Jalen Wilson to go up by two, 52-50.

It took nearly five minutes for the Pokes to get back on the board as Caleb Asberry nailed two free throws to tie the game up at 52, before a put-back bucket by Adams, plus the and-one to go back down by three, 55-52.

It was a back-and-forth ball game the rest of the way as Wright tied the game up at 55 with a huge 3-pointer, followed by a put-back bucket by Tyreek Smith the give the Pokes their lead back, 57-55.

The Cowboys are back out on the court on Monday, Jan. 2, as they play host to No. 24 West Virginia in their Big 12 home opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU.