Oklahoma State Falls to TCU 95-88 In Second Round of Big 12 Tournament
Oklahoma State led TCU by as much as 10 points in the second half, but the Horned Frogs battled back to beat the Pokes 95-88.
It marked the Pokes’ third loss to the Horned Frogs this season, dropping the Cowboys to 19-14 overall on the season. The Cowboys will now wait to learn if they made the NIT and if they’ll be playing at home or on the road.
TCU took their first lead since early in the second half as they went on a quick 5-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Pierre, to go up 81-80. It was the 18:57 mark of the second half, 48-46, before the Pokes took control. The Horned Frogs put the game away just under the two-minute mark as Toolson drilled a big three to put them up 92-86.
Anthony Roy led the Cowboys with 25 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, 9-of-10 from the free throw line with nine rebounds.
Christian Coleman finished with 15 points, Kanye Clary with 14 points and Ben Ahmed, Jaylen Curry and Isaiah Coleman all finished with 10 each.
As a team, the Cowboys shot 49% from the floor, just 21% from 3-point range and 94% from the free throw line. They were outrebounded 39-35, including a 19-15 clip on the offensive end, with TCU putting up 27 second chance points.
The Cowboys did, however, outscored them 52-48 in the paint.
It was a solid first half of action for the Cowboys as they led the Horned Frogs at the break, 46-43. They played fast, downhill and limited turnovers to just three in the first 20 minutes. They also spread the ball and the scoring around, with eight of the nine players scoring at least two points. Curry led the Pokes with 10 points in the first half, Roy, I. Coleman and Ahmed each with eight.
The Cowboys were able to hold onto a three-point lead as they went on an 8-0 run over the course of two minutes to go up by six, 44-38. The Horned Frogs ended that run with a layup by Toolson, with I. Coleman answering back a minute later to take it back to six. Lelevicius drilled a three just before the end of the half to make it a three-point game.
The Frogs started the second half the way they ended the first half as they went on a 5-0 run to take a two-point lead. But the Cowboys immediately answered with a 5-0 run of their own to go up 51-48.
Runs for the Pokes would continue throughout the first six minutes of the second half as they took a 10-point lead, 67-57, on an 8-0 run. That combined for a 14-4 run over a two-minute period with C. Coleman and Clary adding four points each and Roy with six. That combined with a two-minute scoring drought for TCU.
Fouls became an issue down low for the Cowboys as Ahmed pick up his fourth foul just under the 10-minute mark. A minute later, Ragland picked up his second foul on a shot. Robinson made the first free throw, missed the second and Pierre made a layup to make it a one-point game, 72-71, with just over eight minutes left.
After a layup by Clary to stop the bleeding, Ragland picked up his third foul in nine minutes of action, leading to the under-eight media timeout. He picked up his fourth less than one minute later.
