Instant Recap: Cowboys Lose Big 12 Opener against Baylor 75-70 in Overtime

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The Cowboys already got an extra dose of the toughest conference in college basketball.

Oklahoma State started Big 12 play with a 75-70 overtime loss against No. 18 Baylor on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The loss halted the Cowboys’ five-game winning streak that they finished the nonconference slate with.

OSU became the first to take away what Baylor is best at: the 3 ball. The Bears started Saturday as the top 3-point shooting team in college basketball, making 44.8% of their shots from beyond the arc. Baylor was averaging 9.9 3-pointers game. But Saturday, the Cowboys held Baylor to 2-for-15 (13.3%) from 3-point range.

Even at their worst, though, great programs like Scott Drew’s Baylor find ways to win, as the Bears scored 50 in the paint and held OSU without a field goal the last 3:10 of overtime. The Bears even held on to win with leading scorer RayJ Dennis, who put up 18, watching the last 1:27 after fouling out.

As some Cowboy fans may have just started keeping up with basketball with football season closing and Big 12 play opening, 6-foot-11 freshman center Brandon Garrison introduced himself Saturday. Garrison scored a career-best and game-high 20 points, along with eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists. He was a perfect 7-for-7 on field goals and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Garrison also made an impact on the defensive end, even forcing a player out of bounds for a turnover with 59 seconds left in regulation and the score tied 60-60.

Garrison was one of three Cowboys to reach double-digit scoring, as Javon Small tallied 17 and Bryce Thompson recorded 15.

The Cowboys will travel to Lubbock next to play Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Tuesday.