Rondel Walker Puts Oklahoma State Over the Top Against TCU, Pokes Complete 57-56 Comeback
STILLWATER – In one of the more exciting second halves of basketball we’ve seen in Gallagher-Iba Arena, Oklahoma State came from behind to beat the TCU Horned Frogs, 57-56.
With the win, the Cowboys move to 10-7 on the season and 3-3 in Big 12 play.
Avery Anderson III and Rondel Walker led the way for the Pokes with 12 points apiece. Avery finished going 4-of-9 from the field with three steals, with Walker having his best game of the season so far, going 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, with three rebounds and two steals.
As a team, it wasn’t a great offensive night for the Cowboys, but they forced 22 turnovers, four of which came on shot clock violations. They were, however, outrebounded 44-33, but they finished the game on a 7-0 run and holding TCU to no field goals the final 3:16 of the game.
Anderson III opened the game with a 3-pointer, followed by another from Bryce Williams after a quick TCU bucket. The Cowboys would jump up to an 11-8 lead eight minutes into the game, but TCU took over with three quick buckets, 15-11.
The Pokes would tie it up a few times before the end of the half, but it was a fairly low-scoring affair in the first half as the Pokes entered halftime trailing, 25-20. They finished the half with four turnovers in the final six minutes, as well as not hitting a bucket in the final three minutes.
The Horned Frogs came out of the breaking and hit a bucket, going up by seven, 27-10, but Moussa Cisse had an answer of his own on the other end, the Pokes first bucket in nearly four minutes, 27-22.
Back-to-back threes from Bryce Williams and Rondel Walker would be the Pokes’ only points for the next 4:36, before Kalib Boone hit a bucket in the paint to cut TCU’s lead down to three, 33-30.
Prior to Boone’s bucket, the Pokes forced a third shot clock violation turnover on the other end, followed by forcing a turnover following Boone’s bucket. That was followed up by two big buckets by Rondel Walker, energizing the crowd and keeping TCU within two, 35-34.
The Pokes forced another turnover on the next trip back down the court, the fifth TCU turnover in the previous four minutes.
Isaac Likekele gave the Pokes their first lead since the 11:54 mark of the first half, 36-35 with 12:05 left in the game, with a layup following a rebound on a missed shot.
The Pokes held TCU to a more than three-minute scoring drought before Mike Miles hit a 3-pointer, his first bucket of the game, to put the Frogs back up by two, 38-36, which started a quick 5-0 run.
It was a bit of a rough patch down the stretch as the Pokes went on a near-four-minute scoring drought before Anderson III hit a bucket in the paint to cut the TCU lead back down to six, 48-42, with 4:53 left in the game.
Bryce Thompson hit a big corner three, which started a quick 5-0 run by the Pokes, getting them back with four, 54-50.
Rondel Walker hit his second 3-pointer of the game to get the Pokes back within one, 56-55, with just :31.5 remaining in the game. Mike Boynton called a quick timeout following the bucket, which was followed by a huge block by Tyreek Smith on the other end. With the game on the line with :4.8 remaining, Walker drove the lane and was fouled by Mike Miles, sending him to the line to shoot two.
He tied the game with his first shot, then gave the Pokes a one-point lead with his second, 57-56. TCU had a wide-open look in the final seconds, but the shot went long.
The Pokes are back out on the court this Saturday, Jan. 22 as they hit the road to Austin to face Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN2.