Just one game after Markel Brown and Marcus Smart ignited a
massive upset victory on the road against No. 2 Kansas, the two Cowboy stars
had arguably their worst performances of the season.
But even through their struggles on Wednesday night, they
came up with the plays when they were needed, powering Oklahoma State to a
69-67 overtime victory against Baylor in Stillwater.
Brown and Smart shot a combined 8-of-38 from the floor in
the victory but Brown ended up taking advantage of the opportunity that
mattered most.
With five seconds remaining in overtime, OSU's Michael
Cobbins ferociously blocked a potential game-winning layup by Baylor' A.J.
Walton. Brown collected the loose ball and flew down the court, shifted his
body to the outside and then swung in between two BU defenders to convert the
game winner with 0.2 seconds remaining, sending Gallagher-Iba into a frenzy.
The victory gave the 22nd-ranked Cowboys their
fourth-consecutive win, the past three of which have come by a combined nine
points featuring buzzer beaters against BU and Iowa State in Stillwater, giving
Cowboy fans plenty of thrills on the home court.
OSU started the game 1-for-13 from the floor and didn't score its second basket until the
10:29 mark of the half, but solid defense prevented the Bears from leaping too
far in front, allowing OSU to close to within 9-5 midway through the opening 20
minutes.
Then the game of runs started but there were two in
particular that stood out.
After OSU took a 24-22 lead into the beginning of the second
half, the game was a back-and-forth affair before Oklahoma State went on a 14-2
run sparked by a spectacular reverse alley-oop slam by Brown off a no-look feed
from Smart.
After Baylor scored a quick four points, OSU answered with
six-straight of its own to take a commanding 14-point lead but the Bears weren't
out of it yet. Pierre Jackson ignited a 15-2 spurt for Baylor to eventually
knot the game at 57-57.
Smart converted a tough shot to put the Pokes up by two with
a minute remaining but a pair of Jackson free throws with 6.5 seconds left sent
the game into overtime. Baylor took a three-point lead in extra time after a
vicious slam by Corey Jefferson but OSU's Phil Forte drilled a contested 3-pointer
with one minute left, which would be the final basket of the game before Brown's
game-winning layup.
Smart led the Cowboys with 14 points on an abysmal 4-of-21
shooting performance but made key baskets down the stretch and went 5-of-6 from
the foul line. He also made up for it in other areas with eight rebounds, seven
assists and four steals against zero turnovers.
Brown was nearly as dismal from the field, going
4-of-17 and 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
Le'Bryan Nash was the only other Cowboy to reach double figures with 10 points.
Cobbins, in addition to his block that sparked the
game-deciding fast break, scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 13
rebounds.
Brian Williams also got his first action of the season after
returning from injury and scored six points on 3-for-4 shooting in a limited
eight minutes of action.
For the game, OSU shot just 26-of-72 from the field (36.1
percent) and 3-for-21 from 3 but an opportunistic defense forced 16 Baylor
turnovers, while committing just nine of their own.
It was the third-straight loss for Baylor, which was led by
24 points from Jackson.
OSU is now tied with Iowa State for third place in the Big
12 standings with a 6-3 league record and improved to 16-5 overall, eclipsing
last season's win total with the victory.
The Cowboys return to the court on Saturday when they travel
to Austin to take on Texas (10-12, 2-7) at 12:45 p.m.
OU Sooners
OKC Thunder
TU Golden Hurricane
ORU Golden Eagles
