Instant Recap: Cowboys Hold on to Defeat Wildcats 75-72

Oklahoma State was without second-leading scorer Bryce Thompson, who will miss extended time due to injury. In his stead, some young guys stepped up.

OSU defeated Kansas State 75-72 on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena, thanks to five Cowboys scoring in double figures. It was their highest-scoring output since the start of conference play.

The Cowboys came out shooting blanks, at one point late in the first half having shot 25% from the field, before hitting four of five. OSU outscored Kansas State 12-3 to finish the first half to take a 29-27 lead into intermission.

OSU’s offensive surge carried over through the break, shooting 59.3% in the second half. The Cowboys pushed their lead as high as nine early in the second half and were able to keep the Wildcats at bay for most of the rest of the way. But it wouldn’t be a Big 12 game without a little crunch-time drama.

K-State pulled within six several times, and then within four with 2:45 remaining, but the Cowboys were able to answer each Wildcat blow.

Javon Small led all scorers with 18 and grabbed five rebounds and dished out seven assists. Small also hit three of four free throws in the final two minutes.

Oh, Javon! 😱 pic.twitter.com/3dvzo7wFVN

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 3, 2024

Quion Williams scored a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds (all in the first half). Brandon Garrison and John-Michael Wright each added 10 points.

Q with AUTHORITY‼️ pic.twitter.com/NmShehNbr2

— OSU Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) February 3, 2024

As Marshall pointed out earlier in the week, OSU freshmen have played a significantly higher percentage of the team’s minutes compared to the rest of the league, and that will only increase without Thompson.

Freshman Jamyron Keller answered the call for the Cowboys on Saturday. He scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds and added three assists in just 24 minutes. Keller also played stingy defense and made heady plays throughout, including a late hustle play to help seal the win.

With the Cowboys up 74-72, the Wildcats had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, Keller forced a tie-up that gave OSU the ball with the possession arrow. He then took the in-bounds pass and was fouled. He missed the first free throw but made the second to make it a three-point game, and that’s how it ended.

Next up, the Cowboys head to Houston to face the No. 4 Cougars at 6 p.m. Tuesday night on ESPN2.