Oklahoma State pulled off the improbable by snapping a five-game losing streak by beating Texas Tech 71-68 on the road in Lubbock on the Red Raiders’ senior day.
With the win, the Cowboys finish the regular season with a 17-14 overall record and they picked up a very important eighth win in conference play, finishing 8-10.
“It felt like we should’ve went from seven wins to 11 in conference play today,” head coach Mike Boynton joked to the Cowboy Radio Network. “A lot of respect for all the teams in this lead and a lot of credit to Texas Tech who obviously had a really good game plan today. I was really proud, more so, of our kids and the way they responded to coming to a difficult environment on senior day and having our backs against the wall based on the way we had played over the last couple of weeks. Then to end the game with having to respond to some of their runs and obviously [Texas Tech] wasn’t giving in, even if we built a six- or eight-point lead. They would keep storming back and made big shots, but we responded and made big shots every time.
“Really thankful and appreciative of these kids and their courage and conviction, and now looking forward to the next part of the season. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to see anymore Big 12 teams, but here we go.”
It was Caleb Asberry who led the way for the Pokes with an OSU career-high 24 points on a blistering 50% shooting from the floor, 8-of-16, and an even hotter 7-of-12 from 3-point range.
Bryce Thompson also finished with double-figures with 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Tyreek Smith also had a great game as he finished with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and five rebounds.
“I can’t say enough about Tyreek Smith and his effort from the beginning, getting an offensive rebound and put-back and the offensive rebound late that he got, pretty much put us in the position where we could control the clock and make them have to play the foul game.”
As a team, the Cowboys shot 44% from the field, 36% from 3-point range and 5-of-10 from the free throw line. They also out-rebounded the Red Raiders 37-33, as well as on both ends of the court, 25-23 on the defensive end and 12-10 on the offensive end. The Red Raiders, however, outscored the Pokes off the bench 27-7, but the Cowboys scored 17 points off of 10 TTU turnovers. The Pokes turned it over 12 times, but it led to just six points from the Red Raiders.
The Cowboys jumped out to a huge 12-point lead in the first five minutes of the game, leading 15-3. It was Bryce Thompson and Caleb Asberry who combined for all 18 points, Thompson with 13 of those points. The Cowboys extended their lead back up to 12 points a few minutes later, a 23-11 lead, but the Red Raiders came roaring back and made it an exciting final 10 minutes of the first half as the Cowboys went into the break leading by three, 35-32.
Both Thompson and Asberry had double-figures in the first half, Thompson with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a blistering 3-of-4 from 3-point range. As for Asberry, he dropped 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
The start of the second half was much like the first as the Cowboys extended their lead up to 11 points, 45-34. Just a few minutes later, the Pokes took their largest lead of the game of 13 points following a big three from John-Michael Wright for a scoring of 56-43.
However, just like in the first half, Tech made it a game. After a missed bucket from Wright, Tech’s Williams went down the court and drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game for the first time since the start of the game, making it a 60-60 game with just 4:05 left.
Nearly two minutes later, Bryce Thompson fought really hard to hit a bucket at the rim to break the tie, but Tech sophomore Jaylon Tyson hit a huge three to give the Red Raiders their first lead of the game, 63-62 with 2:10 left in the game.
On the trip back down the court, Asberry drilled a huge corner three to put the Pokes back up by two with just under two minutes, 65-63. The Pokes hauled in a defensive rebound on the other end, leading a Thompson having to take a too-deep three attempt as the shot clock expired. He missed, but Tyreek Smith brought down probably his biggest rebound of the season to give the Pokes the ball back with 1:00 left.
As the shot clock wore down, Asberry got the ball to Cisse under the basket for an and-one opportunity. It was a bit of a scary moment though as Cisse turned his ankle on a Tech defender, aggravating an existing ankle injury. Cisse wasn’t able to take the free throws, so Mark Adams selected Tyreek Smith, who missed the front end.
Tech’s Harmon hit a bit layup on the trip back down the court, making it a two-point game,67-65. John-Michael Wright was fouled, making one of two, but Tech missed a bucket leading to a fastbreak dunk by Cisse, who checked back into the game, 70-65. That, however, led to a huge three from Isaacs on the other end with 3.8 seconds left, making it a two-point game, 70-68.
Asberry was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and made one of two free throws, taking the Pokes back up by three. Tech had a chance at a last-second shot, but wasn’t able to get it to fall.
