Oklahoma State Falls on the Road to Texas, 56-51

After an impressive first-half comeback by Oklahoma State, Texas was just too much in the second half as the Pokes lose to the Longhorns, 56-51.

With the loss, the Cowboys move to 10-8 on the season and 3-4 in Big 12 play.

Bryce Thompson led the way for the Pokes as he scored a career-high for the second time this season, this time with 20 points. It came on 8-of-18 shooting from the floor, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 2-of-3 from the free throw line.

Both Rondel Walker and Kalib Boone had solid days as Walker finished with six steals, five rebounds and three assists, while Boone had his best performance since Dec. 18 against Houston with six points, six rebounds and two blocks.

The Cowboys were solid on the defensive end as they held the Horns to just 37% shooting from the floor and 29% shooting from 3-point range. They also forced 20 turnovers, 12 of which came on steals. However, the struggled from the offense end as they shot just 38% from the floor, 22% from 3-point range and a paltry 58% from the free throw line, going just 7-of-12. They were also just 10-of-17 on layups.

The Longhorns jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game, but that’s when the Cowboys turned on the pressure. Tyreek Smith hit the first bucket of the game for the Pokes after four-minute scoring drought, which spurred a 14-0 run of their own while forcing a 10-minute Texas scoring drought on the defensive end.

The Pokes forced 10 first-half turnovers, which included seven steals and 12 points off the turnovers, including eight fastbreak points.

It was Bryce Thompson and Tyreek Smith who led the way for the Pokes in the first half with seven points and six points respectively. Rondel Walker scored on two points in the first half, but he recorded four of the Pokes seven steals, along with three assists.

The start of the second half had a similar start to it as the Horns scored the first four points of the half, giving them their first lead since the 7:39 mark of the first half, 29-27. They stretched their run up to 7-2 before Bryce Thompson hit a layup and got the and one to cut the deficit to just one, 33-32, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the game.

The Longhorns went on an 11-3 run over the course of four minutes to extend their lead up to eight points, 48-39, coupled with a more than two-minute scoring drought before Thompson hit a huge three with four minutes left in the game to cut the lead to just six, 48-42.

Down eight with less than three minutes left to play, Thompson hit a layup through contact to cut the game back down to six, 50-44, but missed the and one opportunity due to a lane violation.

Moussa Cisse was fouled and send to the line with 1:49 left, where he hit the front end of two free throws, getting the Pokes to five, 50-45. Rondel Walker stole the ball on the other end, which led to another bucket by Thompson, making it just a three-point game, 50-47.

With less than 30 seconds remaining, Cisse hits a putback bucket following a miss from Walker to get the Pokes back with three points, 52-49, with just 23 seconds left. However, it wouldn’t be enough as the Horns hit four free throws in the final 20 seconds to pull ahead by five, 56-51, to end it.

The Cowboys are back out this coming Wednesday, Jan. 26, as Iowa State comes to Stillwater for a 7 p.m. CT tip on ESPN+.