OSU outlasts Texas for first Big 12 victory
STILLWATER — Naturally, Lindy Waters ended the drought.
Texas held Oklahoma State without a basket for nearly seven minutes, and the Cowboys, in search of their first Big 12 victory, had missed seven straight shots in that span. But with his first and only attempt of the second half, a buried 3-pointer, Waters ignited the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd and extended OSU’s lead to nine, a large enough margin for the Cowboys to outlast the Longhorns, 61-58, on Tuesday night.
Waters’ 3-pointer was one of his career-high
five on the night in as many tries and gave him a career-high 19 points.
“I could just throw it up there, and it would drop in,” Waters said.
But it was also one of only two OSU baskets in the game’s final 12:42 as the Cowboys (7-8 overall, 1-2 Big 12) avoided blowing a 17-point halftime lead.
“Damn, winning is hard,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said with the first words of his postgame news conference.
Freshman Isaac Likekele made the other of OSU’s final two baskets, returning to the court after suffering an apparent lower leg injury in the second half and making a layup with 1:03 to play. He also made two free throws with 10.4 left on the clock.
“I knew he was gonna make ‘em,” junior forward Cam McGriff said. “We worked too hard. He’s a pretty confident kid, especially as a freshman.”
Likekele fell to the court with 13:57 to play before limping off with a trainer. With Tuesday’s news that graduate transfer Mike Cunningham had left the program, OSU’s point guard depth had seemingly taken another hit.
But Likekele returned at 6:11 and played to the buzzer.
“Sometimes you get knocked down, you gotta respond, and he responded the right way,” Boynton said. “To see him bounce back and come back and be ready for that moment was pretty impressive.”
Texas freshman Courtney Ramey, who heavily considered OSU during his recruiting process, missed an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired. The Longhorns (10-5, 2-1) finished 2-for-22 from 3.
At halftime, the game didn’t appear to be heading for a last-second finish. OSU led 39-22, as Waters and Cam McGriff outscored the Longhorns by themselves with 24 combined points.
But the Cowboys took more than 11 minutes to score 10 points out of the break.
With their first conference victory under their belt, the Cowboys next visit West Virginia on Saturday for an 11 a.m. tilt. OSU will try to continue its stout defensive run, having held its first three conference opponents below their season shooting averages.
“Defense is about, first and foremost, unbelievable effort and care, and we’ve got a high care factor within our group,” Boynton said. “We know who we are by knowing who we’re not. We’re not gonna beat somebody 98-95. It’s OK to win 61-58. It counts the same.”