Super Mario!

Texas freshman Kevin Durant will one day make a whole lot of money playing in the NBA. But Mario Boggan showed Tuesday night why he is the front-runner for Big 12 Conference Player of the Year honors as he hit a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining in the third overtime to give 12th-ranked Oklahoma State a thrilling 105-103 victory over 21st-ranked Texas inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Boggan finished with career highs of 37 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Cowboys to their 16th victory in 18 games.

Boggan, who played the worst game of his OSU career while scoring just eight points in the Cowboys’ 30-point loss to Kansas last Wednesday, had to wait nearly a week to redeem himself ... but redeem himself he did against Durant and the Longhorns.

The 6-8 senior scored 16 points in the three overtime periods, including five in the third extra period. But none of the three were bigger than the trey he hit with Longhorns Connor Atchley and D.J. Augustin guarding him as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

"He just made big play after big play," Cowboy head coach Sean Sutton said of Boggan. "I always thought the greatest performance I had ever seen by one of our players was when Bryant Reeves scored 33 points and had 20 rebounds against Kansas. I'm not sure that Mario didn't top it tonight - 37 points, 20 rebounds, 10 at the offensive end, four blocked shots, three steals and only one turnovers, plays 54 minutes, and hits the game winner. It was an unbelievable performance for him."

Durant’s free throw to complete a conventional three-point play gave the Longhorns a 103-102 lead with 10.5 seconds left in the third overtime. The Cowboys did not have any timeouts remaining and Terrel Harris inbounded to Boggan near midcourt. He dribbled into the front court near the Cowboy bench where he was closely guarded by Augustin. Boggan took an off-balance jumper from behind the three-point line with the 6-9 Atchley coming at him. Although Boggan’s first four three-pointers of the game had missed – and he was only 5 of 37 prior to his last second attempt – this one hit nothing but net to give the Cowboys the lead.

Texas, also without any timeouts remaining, pushed the ball up the court. Harris hurried back and forced A.J. Abrams into a traveling violation with just 0.2 seconds left on the clock. The Cowboys inbounded and the game ended with OSU fans storming the court.

Oklahoma State improved to 16-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12, while Texas is now 13-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

Boggan played 54 of the game’s 55 minutes, and finished with career highs of 37 points (on 13 of 27 shooting from the field, and 10 of 13 from the free-throw line) and 20 rebounds (including 10 offensive).

JamesOn Curry finished with 28 points and nine rebounds (while playing 52 minutes) and Terrel Harris scored 16 points (in 50 minutes of action).

Durant led the Longhorns with 37 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cowboys don’t get much of a break from the Big 12 schedule-maker as Saturday they travel to College Station, Texas, to face the eighth-ranked Texas A&M Aggies.