Oklahoma State Comes Up Short Late Against Houston, Falls 72-61

It was a close game for a good portion of the night, but Oklahoma State's upset bid of No. 14 Houston comes up short late, as the Cougars were just too much down the stretch, holding on for the 72-61 win.

With the loss, the Cowboys move to 7-4 on the season and will face a tough USC team in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, December 21.

Bryce Williams once again led the Pokes in scoring as he scored 17 points. However, those points came in a rather unorthodox fashion as he went just 2-of-13 from the field, 1-of-7 from 3-point range and 12-of-13 from the free throw line.

Next on the stat sheet was Avery Anderson III and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe as they both scored nine points.

The Cowboys were outrebounded by the Cougars, but they kept it close, 39-35, with 22 of the Pokes rebounds coming on the defensive end. They did, however, outscore the Cougars in the paint, 28-22, and forced more turnovers, 19-18.

Shooting the ball proved challenging for the Pokes as they shot just 36% from the floor, 16% from 3-point range and just 69% from the free throw line, missing 10 free throws.

It was a very back and forth start to the game with the game tied 11-11 at the 12:36 mark following a layup by Bernard Kouma, the Pokes’ first field goal in more than five minutes. This is when the Cougars started to pull away. They’d jump up to a 20-11 lead on three-straight 3-pointers by Texas Tech transfer Kyler Edwards. They’d extend that lead up to their largest of the first half, 33-21 with 5:01 left in the first half.

That’s when the Pokes started to make their move.

Down 35-24 with 2:14 left, the Pokes went on a 7-0 run to cut the Cougars lead down to just five, 35-30 going into halftime.

The Cowboys shot well in the first half, 43.5% from the floor. They also rebounded well, hauling in 13 compared to 16 by the Cougars, one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Turnovers were a problem for both sides in the first half as the Pokes forced 10 and turned it over nine times.

The Cowboys came out hot in the second half, going on a 15-1 run to tie the game up at 38-38 with just over 15 minutes left in the second half.

Mike Boynton picked up a technical foul a few minutes later following a no-call on a Kalib Boone layup, followed by Houston extending their lead up to six points a few minutes later, 46-40 with 12:29 remaining in the game.

Every time the Pokes got closer, Houston would make a play, like they did with 10:17 left. Following a free throw by Rondel Walker getting the Pokes back within four, 47-43, Marcus Sasser hit a huge corner three, putting Houston back up seven points, 50-43.

The wheels started to come off a bit for the Pokes as they’d go on a near-five minute scoring drought from the field, which also included three turnovers.

The Cowboys did, however, enter the double bonus at the 7:52 mark following a foul on Jamal Shead.

The Cougars extended their lead back up to 10-points, 56-46, with just more than seven minutes left following a turnover by Anderson III and a fourth foul on Moncrieffe.

Anderson III extended his point total up to nine and cut Houston’s lead down to just four points with a huge three just over five minutes left, then recorded a huge steal, which led to a massive putback dunk by Kalib Boone getting the game to two points, 57-55.

Shead nails a big three on the wing to put the Cougars back up eight, followed by two free throws to extend it back up to 10 points, 67-57, just under the two minutes mark.

The Cowboys were able to get back within six points, 67-61 with just over a minute, but fouls and turnovers remained a problem for the Pokes in the final few minutes of the game as Houston was able to pull away late.