Oklahoma State's Wild Comeback Falls Short at Texas Tech
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The Cowboys nearly made it all the way back in Lubbock.
On Sunday, Oklahoma State lost 64-54 against Texas Tech on the road at United Supermarkets Arena. OSU cut its 18-point deficit down to as little as three but couldn’t make enough plays in the final minutes to escape with a win.
OSU’s deficit was large in the final quarter of its matchup at Texas Tech, but that didn’t prevent the Cowboys from putting up a fight. After falling down by as much as 18, Bryce Thompson gave the Cowboys they desperately needed with six straight points to cut into the deficit. From there, Arturo Dean began to take over.
Dean scored seven straight of his own, including an and-one to get the Cowboys within two possessions. OSU continued to fight back, getting another transition bucket from Dean a few possessions later to make it a three-point game with just over five minutes remaining.The largest key to OSU’s run was its defense, holding Texas Tech to one point and no field goals in the nearly seven minutes after the deficit was extended to 18.
Despite having a tough first half, the Cowboys had an opportunity to turn the tide in their favor out of halftime. Although the first few possessions were rather sloppy, OSU hadn’t given up any ground through the first three minutes and change. However, already trailing by 10, OSU’s margin for error was far too small to allow any runs, but Texas Tech would soon make its run in an attempt to gain full control.
The Cowboys’ first half was atrocious offensively. While the Cowboys have been no stranger to rough halves scoring the ball, they typically haven’t entered halftime with more turnovers than made field goals.
Through the first 20 minutes, Texas Tech’s defense was swarming against OSU and forced 11 turnovers. Still, the Cowboys managed to shoot 10-of-20 from the field and were able to get decent looks when they managed to get a shot off.
Although OSU struggled offensively, its defense helped keep the game tight going into the halftime break. OSU allowed 37 points from Texas Tech, but it still forced six turnovers and kept the Red Raiders off the foul line entirely.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.