Coming up clutch
In the final minutes of Oklahoma State’s upset Saturday over Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse, senior point guard Kendall Smith took over.
In the final minutes of Oklahoma State’s game at Allen Fieldhouse, senior point guard Kendall Smith took over. The Cowboys could use him doing the same going forward.
Smith’s team-high 24 points guided OSU to its 84-79 upset of Kansas on Saturday. A postseason bid in the air, the Cowboys need the Smith they saw Saturday going forward, beginning with a matchup against Baylor on Tuesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
“I’m going to keep coming and keep staying relentless and keep trusting that the other four guys on the court will do everything in their power to put me in position,” Smith said Saturday. “And I’ll do everything in my power to put them in position to be successful.”
In addition to his five assists and five rebounds, Smith scored 10 of the Cowboys’ final 14 points, each of his makes boosting OSU’s lead and keeping the Jayhawks at a distance. He made his final five shot attempts of the game, quieting Allen Fieldhouse in the process.
With 10.2 seconds to play, Smith sank a pair of free throws to give the Cowboys their final margin of victory, another example of him delivering when he was needed. In OSU’s conference victories against Iowa State and Oklahoma, Smith nailed 3-pointers in the final 10 seconds to send each game to overtime.
If not for Smith’s heroics, OSU could very well have only one conference victory.
“Having coached him now for 22, 23 games, he’s shown that he wants to be in those moments,” coach Mike Boynton said Saturday. “... He’s really aggressive in late-game and lateshot clock situations, and we need him to be. He’s a guy who can make good decisions, get to a spot and make a lot of different shots.”
On Monday, Smith, a graduate transfer from Cal State-Northridge, became the first Cowboy to earn a Big 12 weekly award this season, garnering the conference’s Newcomer of the Week honors. In a loss to TCU on Tuesday, he scored 13 points off the bench, playing two days after missing the Cowboys’ game at Arkansas with the flu.
“I’m here,” Smith said afterward. “I’m here for my team, and that’s what’s important.”
Saturday’s victory was Smith’s first start in seven games. Despite mostly coming off the bench, he has scored in double-digits in four straight games, averaging 17.0 points a game on 51.9 percent shooting during that stretch.
He’s the Cowboys’ leader this season in plusminus, with OSU outscoring opponents by 145 points when Smith is on the court. His play will be important on both ends of the court Tuesday; he’ll likely be responsible for guarding Manu Lecomte, who scored 30 points in Baylor’s victory against the Cowboys earlier this season.
With eight regularseason games remaining, Smith’s ability to take over late could prove vital to OSU’s postseason hopes.
“I think you’ve just got to be a competitor and be confident,” Smith said. “... I just give all glory to God. I’m confident in the abilities he gave me.”