OSU falls to West Virginia
Oklahoma State opened Big 12 play with an 85-79 loss to seventh-ranked West Virginia on Friday at GallagherIba Arena.
STILLWATER — The Cowboys continued to show the gritty personality that has guided them well early in this college basketball season Friday night, pushing back for much of 40 minutes against rugged No. 7-ranked West Virginia.
The few minutes they couldn’t maintain that — a faltering stretch of 4:51 late — proved costly.
The Cowboys scored just two points during that span, misfiring frequently from the foul line, falling 85-79 in the Big 12 opener for both teams before 8,257 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU, the nation’s No. 2 free throw shooting team in the country entering the game, made just 11 of 19 in the second half. Jeffrey Carroll, an 80.6 percent foul shooter, went 5-of-10 from the line.
“I really don’t miss free throws like that,” Carroll said. “Just focus.”
Could have been fatigue, too, as the defensive battle expected played out, with both teams pressuring and grinding, playing to their identities. Each squad reached a season-high for turnovers. West Virginia forced 21 turnovers and Oklahoma State 18, and the two teams combined for 22 steals and 48 fouls.
Not that the Cowboys wanted to cop being tired.
“Nah, I don’t believe that,” said Tavarius Shine. “We practice hard every day. Just like they play hard, we play hard, every day. We come in here and we come with pressure.
“Fatigue was not it. Just one of those nights for us.”
Carroll and Shine each scored 17 points to lead the Cowboys, who led by nine at one point in the first half and by seven, 54-47, with 15:07 to play.
But West Virginia’s depth, on both ends of the floor, played a major role. Six Mountaineers finished in double figures scoring, led by Teddy Allen’s 15 off the bench.
Even with their rough patch, the Cowboys battled to the end.
After falling behind 76-67, Carroll scored on a three-point play and a 3-pointer to pull the Cowboys within three at 77-74. OSU was still within two when Brandon Averette produced a three-point play with :34 left, yet couldn’t get any closer.
“I look at it as a learning experience,” Shine said. “We came out and played good the first half and I feel like we didn’t execute like we should have in the second half.
“We just have to find a way to put the two halves together. We’re going to play good opponents every night, so we’re going to have to find a way to finish out a game.”
The Cowboys used a hot-shooting first half to lead 46-39 at intermission. And it was necessary. West Virginia got off 10 more shots and forced 12 OSU turnovers, but the Cowboys made 14 of their 22 shots, including four 3-pointers, running off eight straight made field goals during one stretch.
Shine made 6-of-8 shots from the floor and scored 15 points to lead OSU’s surge.