Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Oklahoma State beats Tech, a boost for a tournament bid
OKLAHOMA STATE 79, NO. 6 TEXAS TECH 71
STILLWATER, Okla. — Kendall Smith scored 21 points to help lead Oklahoma State to a 79-71 upset victory over No. 6 Texas Tech on Wednesday night.
Lindy Waters added a career-high 18 points, and Jeffrey Carroll had 14 points to help the Cowboys (16-12, 6-9 Big 12) get a huge boost to their hopes of gaining an NCAA Tournament bid. The Cowboys already had four victories against teams that were ranked in the top 20 at the time they played — Florida State, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas.
Oklahoma State shot 52.2 percent overall and 11 of 22 from 3-point range against a Texas Tech team that ranks in the Top 10 nationally in field goal percentage defense and scoring defense.
Zhaire Smith scored 18 points, and Jarrett Culver added 15 for Tech (22-6, 10-5), which needed a victory to tie Kansas for the Big 12 lead. The Red Raiders lost their second consecutive after reeling off seven consecutive victories.
Tech’s Keenan Evans, the Big 12’s No. 2 scorer, finished with two points on 1-for7 shooting. He missed the second half of Tech’s loss to Baylor last Saturday with a toe injury. He started against Oklahoma State and played 25 minutes.
Smith scored 16 points in the first half to help Texas Tech take a 35-34 lead at the break. Oklahoma State shot 57 percent in the first half but committed 11 turnovers.
Oklahoma State opened the second half with a 9-2 run to take a 43-37 lead and force Texas Tech to call timeout.
It didn’t help. Back-to-back threes by Waters and Carroll put the Cowboys up 49-37 just four minutes into the second half. A 3-pointer by Tavarius Shine made it 59-43. In all, Oklahoma State made its first nine field goals in the second half.
Tech scored eight consecutive to make it a game, and that helped put the Red Raiders in position to make a run late. A pair of free throws by Zhaire Smith cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 70-66 with just over 2 minutes remaining, but the Cowboys held on at the free throw line.
The Cowboys continue to rise to the occasion in big games for first-year Coach Mike Boynton. The Cowboys lost momentum late in the first half but didn’t buckle. They were the aggressors to start the second half, and they cut down their turnovers to give themselves more chances to score.
In other top 25 and SEC games Wednesday, Ty Jerome scored 18 points and top-ranked Virginia (25-2, 14-1) held off depleted Georgia Tech (11-17, 4-11) 65-54, clinching the regular season title and top seed next month in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament . ... Naji Marshall scored a career-high 21 points and No. 4 Xavier (25-4, 13-3 Big East) beat Georgetown (15-11, 5-10) 89-77. ... Theo Pinson scored a career-high 23 points, Joel Berry II added 18, including the tiebreaking layup with 1:36 left, and No. 10 North Carolina (22-7, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) held off Syracuse (18-10, 7-8) 78-74 . ... Shaquille Morris had 25 points and nine rebounds to help No. 13 Wichita State (22-5, 12-3 American Athletic Conference) outlast Tulane (13-14, 4-11) 93-86 . ... Justin Robinson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored 14 points each to lift Virginia Tech (20-8, 9-6 ACC) to a 65-58 upset of No. 15 Clemson (207, 9-6) . ... Duncan Robinson scored 19 points and Moritz Wagner added 18 as No. 17 Michigan (23-7, 12-5 Big Ten) beat Penn State (19-11, 9-8) . ... Wesley Myers scored 15 points and made five of South Carolina’s 13 3-pointers as the Gamecocks (15-13, 6-9 SEC) beat Georgia (5-12, 6-9) 66-57.
SOUTHLAND MEN STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 97, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 62
Stephen F. Austin (23-5, 12-3 Southland Conference) dominated the University of Central Arkansas (13-15, 7-8) in all phases in a 35-point blowout at Johnson Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas.
The Lumberjacks, who led by as many as 42 points late, shot 56.9 percent for the game and 45.8 percent from 3-point range as the Bears could only muster 32.3 percent from the field.
Stephen F. Austin also led in points off turnovers (26-12), fast-break points (22-2) and points in the paint (46-18).
Jordan Howard led the Bears with 19 points, while teammate Mathieu Kamba finished with 13.