Cowboy Winning Streak Comes to An End

Oklahoma State saw its longest winning streak in more than two years come to an end Saturday afternoon in Waco, Texas. The Cowboys appeared to have extended their seven-game winning streak when freshman Keiton Page hit a three-pointer with less than 11 seconds to play to give OSU a one-point lead, but the 21st-ranked Bears tied it on a late foul shot and then won the game 98-92 in overtime.

Oklahoma State, now 12-4, lost for the first time since Dec. 4 against Washington at Seattle in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Baylor improves to 14-3 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play.

The Cowboys were without senior leaders Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris during the five-minute overtime period as both fouled out in the last minute of regulation, and it showed as Baylor rode the three-point shooting of Tweedy Carter and Curtis Jerrells in overtime to capture the victory. Jerrells finished with a game-high 31 points (26 of those after halftime), 10 assists and 6 rebounds.

But the Baylor senior guard’s free throw with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation were the most crucial as it allowed the Bears to tied the game 82-82 and send it into overtime.

The Cowboys looked to be done with 29.5 seconds left when Eaton committed his fifth foul, sending Henry Dugat to the free-throw line where he made one of two shots to give the Bears an 81-77 lead. But the 5-foot-10 Page made a big-time play on the Cowboys’ next possession, driving into the lane to hit a layup while drawing a foul on Baylor 6-9 post Kevin Rogers.

Page missed the foul shot but the Bears lost the ball out of bounds giving the Cowboys one more chance, and the freshman from Pawnee, Okla., almost made them pay dearly. He made a step-back three-pointer with 10.9 seconds remaining to give the Cowboys an 82-81 lead.

But Jerrells made a free throw after being fouled with 2.5 seconds left, and the game went into overtime with the Cowboys missing both Eaton and Harris. The Bears would outscore the Cowboys 16-10 in overtime for the victory.

“There’s no question that we played with a lot of heart and a lot of effort but we didn’t play real smart at times,” OSU head coach Travis Ford said. “We took a lot of questionable shots, we made a lot of passes that we normally don’t make, (and) we didn’t get into our offense a lot of times. I was calling plays out and guys weren’t just focused the way you need to be focused when you’re on the road.

"I give Baylor a lot of credit. The crowd was really terrific, and it got very loud. But I thought we put ourselves in position to win a very tough road game and we just didn’t finish it off.”

The Cowboys used a 16-4 run during a five-plus minute stretch of the first half to take a commanding 37-20 lead. But the Bears got back into the game during the final five minutes of the first half, pulling within 41-34 at halftime. Then the Bears outscored the Cowboys 23-8 in the first 7:36 of the second half to pull ahead.

“I give our team credit for not giving up and playing with great heart ... and that’s a positive, but when we got up we knew they were going to make a run,” Ford added. “The last five minutes of the first half we didn’t rebound the basketball and the first five minutes of the second half we didn’t play any defense. They shot 100 percent (6 of 6) in the first five minutes of the second half. That 10-minute stretch, I thought, was the difference in the basketball game.

“It’s a disappointing loss, but our kids worked very, very hard and never gave up," Ford added.

Obi Muonelo led five Cowboys in double figures with 21 points and also added nine rebounds while playing just 27 minutes because of foul trouble. James Anderson finished with 20 points, Eaton contributed 17 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds before fouling out, Harris added 12 points, and Page came off the bench for 11 points, 4 steals and 4 rebounds.

The Cowboys return to action Wednesday night when they host Missouri at Gallagher-Iba Arena in a game that tips off at 8 p.m.