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Cowboys Knock Off No. 24 Texas Tech in 73-70 Thriller

Oklahoma State won a 73-70 thriller over Texas Tech in Stillwater

STILLWATER – In a game where Oklahoma State honored the 1995 Final Four team, the current Cowboy squad played, and the crowd cheered like it was ’95. With 7:24 left in the game, senior Cameron McGriff pulled down a defensive rebound that led to an Isaac Likekele bucket on the other end that gave the Cowboys their first lead since the two-minute mark of the first half. From there, the Cowboys were feeling it and held on to beat No. 24 Texas Tech 73-70.

With the win, Oklahoma State moves to 13-12 on the season and 3-9 in conference play.

"I thought it was a terrific college basketball game," said head coach Mike Boynton. "I'm really proud of the way our team competed against [Texas Tech] for 40 minutes. Things didn't always go exactly how we wanted to, but we showed the type of resiliency and competitive spirit that will give us a chance to continue to get better 

It was senior Jonathan Laurent and freshman Kalib Boone that led the way for the Pokes with 16 points apiece. Laurent hauled in seven rebounds and Boone had a career-game for the Pokes. His 16 points surpassed his high of 12 points against Texas on Jan. 15, with 12 of his points coming from the free throw line. He also hauled in four rebounds and matched a career-high with three blocks.

The Pokes also got great play by Isaac Likekele down the stretch as he scored 10 points in the second half, including going 4-of-5 from the free throw line to finish the day with 14 points.

The Cowboys out-rebounded Tech 37-22, with 15 of the Pokes’ rebounds coming on the offensive end. They also forced 15 Texas Tech turnovers, held the Red Raiders to no field goals in the final five minutes of action and the Pokes made 31-of-38 free throws compared to just 12-of-20 by Tech.

"Identity; again, go back, we think we can be a 3-point shooting team. How do we win? We go inside and attack the paint and we get to the free throw line," said coach Boynton. "We did that at K-State the other day. I think we shot like 81 percent from the field, which means we were not shooting a bunch of threes in the second half the other day. Today, we kind of had the same game plan and if you can be something every day, then you have a chance to build some continuity in the way you succeed."

The final two minutes of action was as electric as Gallagher-Iba Arena has been in quite some time. Two made free throws by Isaac Likekele gave the Pokes the lead back, a lead that they wouldn’t give up.

"I just want to congratulate Oklahoma State," said Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard. "I've got a lot of respect for Coach Mike Boynton. You learn a lot about a guy's character and toughness when his back against the wall. This is three of the last four games they've won; the only loss in that stretch was a one-possession game at Baylor. That's the mark of a team that has a lot of heart and character. There's a lot of season left. We understood what we were getting into today. Under no ounce of truth did we underestimate these guys or anything. This is a team we have a lot of respect for; one of the best starting fives in the Big 12. A team that's really rallying and been playing their best basketball when it matters most: February with March close. Congratulations to Oklahoma State. The better team won today. They out-rebounded us, you know, 15 offensive rebounds; credit to them. They made us turn the ball over 15 times; credit to them. The got to the free-throw line twice as much as us; credit it to them. They were the more aggressive team for most of the game and they made their free throws. The story today in Stillwater is the better team won, that was Oklahoma State today."

The Cowboys started the game off strong as they forced a shot clock violation on Tech’s first trip down the court, started the game on an 8-0 run and hauled in seven rebounds in the first four minutes of action, four of which came on the offensive end.

The Pokes held onto that lead for the first 10 minutes of the game, but a five-minute 10-6 TTU run put the Red Raiders on top 14-13. The Cowboys would go on a near-seven-minute scoring drought before getting back on the board with two quick buckets from Isaac Likekele and Kalin Boone bringing the Pokes back to one-point 17-16. From there, it was an exciting remainder to the first half that included a one-handed alley-oop slam from Kalib Boone on the assist from Likekele.

The Cowboys would enter halftime trailing Tech 29-27 with Jonathan Laurent leading the way for the Pokes with seven points. Kalib Boone was close behind with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.

The Cowboys would finish the first half out-rebounding Tech 18-13, with an even nine and nine coming on the offensive and defensive ends. The 29 first half points by Tech was also quite a bit less than half of the 73.5 points they score a game.

The Cowboys are back in action this coming Tuesday as they hit the road and face West Virginia in Morgantown, WV. The game is being televised on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.