Cowboys Come Up Short Late Against No. 1 Baylor
For a good portion of the game in a tough environment against the No. 1 team in the country, Oklahoma State had an answer for Baylor, but just couldn’t finish late as they fell 78-70.
With the loss, Oklahoma State falls to 11-12 on the season and 1-9 in Big 12 play.
"I told our guys I'm not into moral victories at all," head coach Mike Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. "We had an opportunity one the road against the No. 1 team to get the job done, and we didn't make enough winning plays late to close it and for that, I'm disappointed. I am proud of the way they fought. We got down a few times where we've gotten down before and haven't fought back the way we did today. So, I can still see the growth in our team and I look forward to getting back to work and getting ready for the next one."
Sophomore point guard Isaac Likekele finished with his second-career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. It also marks his second-straight game with a double-double. It was senior Lindy Waters who led the way for the Pokes as he finished with 16 points, fives assists and two rebounds.
"I hate that [Waters] had to miss the last game; obviously we weren't going to put him out there before he was totally ready to play comfortably and aggressively," coach Boynton said of Lindy Waters on the Cowboy Radio Network. "I thought he showed great attitude bouncing back today coming off the bench."
The first few minutes of the game for Oklahoma State wasn’t too bad as they were keeping pace with Baylor on both ends of the court. Freshman Keylan Boone got the start of his career and made the Pokes’ first bucket of a game, a corner three, to give the Pokes a 3-2 lead just a few minutes into the game.
But that’s when the wheels fell off for a bit. The Cowboys turned the ball over seven times in the first seven minutes of the half. Foul trouble was also an issue for the Pokes as Yor Anei, Kalib Boone and Cameron McGriff all had two fouls with just under eight minutes left in the half, with Anei picking up his third less than a minute later.
With just over nine-minute left in the half, the Cowboys trailed by as many as 14 points, but that’s just about when the Cowboys started to turn things around. They were able to come from a 14-point deficit in the first half to enter halftime 35-26 and a 15-point deficit in the second half.
With just over seven minutes left in the second half, senior Thomas Dziagwa hit a big three to bring the Pokes to within two points. The Cowboys were able to force an empty Baylor possession on the other end, which led to a massive dunk from Cameron McGriff to tie the game up at 51.
Every time Baylor would hit a big bucket, or force a turnover, the Cowboys would have an answer on the ensuing trip back down the court.
Things started to look a little sticky for the Pokes as foul trouble started to become a factor. McGriff fouled out of the game with just over five minutes remaining in the game. He finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Just a few short minutes later, sophomore Yor Anei fouled out with zero points, zero rebounds with four turnovers in eight minutes of action.
Just a few minutes later, following an ally-oop from Lindy Waters, freshman Kalib Boone would foul out. Boone finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with five rebounds.
But there was a rather large discrepancy on the stat sheet as the Cowboys finished the game with 31 fouls, while Baylor finished with just 20. One could argue, and probably win, that quite a few of the fouls called on OSU shouldn't have been. In fact, that’s what led head coach Mike Boynton to getting tossed from the game in the final 10 seconds. There was a missed foul call on a Baylor rebound following a missed free throw from Isaac Likekele, quickly followed by a foul called on Jonathan Laurent, which was his fifth, and coach Boynton let the referees have it as he had had enough.
After MaCio Teague made the two technical foul free throws, Mike Boynton let the refs have it again resulting in him being thrown out. I don’t think you’ll find too many people that are going to argue with coach Boynton’s frustrations.
However, coach Boynton did shake hands with the entire Baylor coaching staff, as well as the Baylor bench players before leaving the arena.
"Obviously, I was really frustrated there," coach Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. "I just felt like our kids deserved better and it's my job to make sure that I'm supporting them as much as I can. I regret that I got kicked out; obviously, that's never a part of the plan for me. That's not my personality. But as some point, you've got to stand up for your guys and show them that you're going to fight with them. As hard as they fought, they deserve the most they can get from their coach."
Oklahoma State out-rebounded the Bears 38-30, while also finished the game shooting 47 percent. That’s the highest shooting percentage that Baylor has allowed during conference play. OSU’s 70 points today also marked the most points scored by an opponent in Waco this season.
If the Cowboys are able to play the rest of the season with the same level of grit and tenacity as they did against Baylor, minus the fouls and turnovers of course, for the remainder of the season, then they have a good chance of finishing the season on a high note.
"Our guys are playing like they believe we can have success," coach Boynton said on the Cowboy Radio Network. "The last part is, you've got to go make the plays. You've got to be decisive out there and not worry about the outcome as it might go wrong. But we're playing really hard. The kids are showing up every day with really good attitudes and that's going to give us a chance to finish this season really strong over the last few weeks."
Oklahoma State is back in action this coming Tuesday, Feb. 11, as they travel to Manhattan, KS for an 8 p.m. tip against Kansas State on ESPNU.
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