OSU can’t work it out against Baylor

STILLWATER — Before Oklahoma State’s promotion of Monday’s “The Office” night, coach Mike Boynton had never watched the popular sitcom, and his knowledge of the show was, frankly, limited. He spent some time in the days before the Cowboys’ game against Baylor watching the series’ early episodes to get a grasp.

But the energy from the celebration of the popular sitcom and the students’ return from winter break wasn’t enough for the Cowboys to avoid a 73-69 loss to the Bears. With a handful of the season-best 8,194 fans in GallagherIba Arena dressed as characters Pam, Dwight and three-hole-punch Jim, while others held edited pictures of Boynton with a bandanna, a la Michael Scott’s “Prison Mike” persona, there was a notable energy in the arena.

With humorous promotional material starring the Cowboys (8-9 overall, 2-3 Big 12) and notable scenes stuffing the video board hanging above Eddie Sutton Court, OSU’s Curtis Jones hit shots in a manner that likely had Baylor (106, 2-2) fans saying, “No. 1, how dare you?” Midway through the first half, Jones hit three straight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers that pushed OSU’s lead to as many as eight.

But the Bears, too, couldn’t miss from deep. After Jones’ second make, Baylor attempted nine straight shots from 3, hitting seven. The Bears made 11 of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half, the most by an OSU opponent in a first half since 2005, to take a 40-35 lead into the locker room. King McClure led both teams with 20 first-half points.

The Bears, though, missed three 3-pointers in their opening possession of the second half. After Thomas Dziagwa hit a 3-pointer to draw OSU within one, guard Isaac Likekele blocked a Bears shot, setting up another transition 3 from Dziagwa to put the Cowboys ahead. A Makai Mason 3, the Bears’ first in five second-half tries, returned the lead to Baylor.

The Cowboys followed with a 12-5 run, getting two 3-pointers from Jones, but then missed 12 of their next 13 shots, including a 7 1/2-minute drought. Ahead 60-54 at the start of the dry spell, a Jones layup with 59 seconds to play brought OSU’s deficit to 67-66.

“We just have to be accountable among ourselves to figure that out,” junior Cam McGriff said.

A pair of McClure free throws pushed the Bears ahead by three, but OSU’s Michael Weathers missed two on the other end to keep the deficit there. Mason’s jumper with the shot clock ticking down gave Baylor its largest lead at five, and a McGriff 3 wasn’t enough to draw the Cowboys within winning distance.