Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Falls to TCU 68-65

The Cowboys got a little too comfortable with their lead down the stretch.

Oklahoma State fell to TCU 68-65 in Fort Worth on Tuesday night. The Cowboys had a seven-point lead with 4:13 left but allowed the Horned Frogs to score 10-straight points while OSU missed its final seven field-goal attempts.

That was how it ended. Here’s how it started.

TCU was getting most of its early points from its front court, specifically power forward David Punch, who led all scorers with 14 first-half points (he led all scorers at the final buzzer with 22). The Cowboys countered with their back court, with Kanye Clary and Anthony Roy splitting 18 points at the break.

The Horned Frogs got off to a hot start at home, knocking down four of their first five and starting 7-of-12 to build as much as a nine-point lead early. Meanwhile, the Cowboys missed their first four shots and before Clary got his first shot up.

Fortunately, they were falling for one Cowboy to start. He was 4-of-5 in the first half and kept the Pokes in it long enough for Anthony Roy to get going. Roy was 3-for-5 from deep including back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Cowboys their first lead with just under seven minutes to go in the half. The Cowboys took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

It was a back-and-forth affair out of the break. TCU scored the first five points of the second half before the Cowboys answered with five-straight.

The Cowboys were able to extend their lead to nine midway through the second half. After two quick makes, TCU went 1-of-10 from the field over a nearly seven-minute stretch.

Isaiah Coleman took up the scoring load in the second half, scoring 10 of his 14 to help keep the Cowboys on top. The Frogs were able to stay within arm’s reach. Each time the Cowboys would push their lead to eight, TCU would cut it to four.

The Cowboys gave up a seven-point lead down the stretch, going scoreless for 3:15 while TCU went on a 9-0 run over 2:17. The Horned Frogs tied it at 65 when Liutauras Lelevicius made a 3-pointer with 1:10 left on the clock.

With a tied game and everything going TCU’s way, Steve Lutz decided to burn clock. Kanye Clary dribbled the shot clock down and missed a midrange jumper. TCU got the ball back with 36 seconds to go. The Frogs went to their leading scorer, and Punch jabbed a hook shot in to give TCU the 67-65 lead with eight seconds to go.

Steve Lutz called a timeout to set up the final shot. Vyctorius Miller got a shot at a corner 3 to win it but it rimmed out. Isaiah Coleman nearly had a tip-in, but it bounced out. Punch got the rebound and was fouled. He was able to seal the win with a trip to the free-throw line with 0.8 seconds to go. He made the first to go up 68-65 and missed the second.

Three Cowboys scored in double digits led by Isaiah Coleman’s 14 (6-of-11 shooting) and a team-high six boards. Anthony Roy scored 13 and was 3-of-6 from 3 while Kanye Clary had 11 and six assists.

Before TCU went on that run, the Cowboys were outshooting the Frogs 49% to 42%. They still out-shot them from 3 (40% to TCU’s 30%), but sometimes it matters more when you make your shots and when you miss them. TCU made its final four field-goal attempts, and the Cowboys missed their final seven.

With the loss, the Cowboys fall to 14-5 and 2-4 in Big 12 play. They’ll return home this weekend to host No. 9 Iowa State at 3 p.m. Saturday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.