Cowboys Take Down Longhorns & Jayhawks

2/3/15   OSU Cowboys @ Texas Longhorns

Phil Forte stepped to the free throw line, practiced his stroke a couple of times, then settled in to the calm feeling that he'd "been here, done that" on this very court. And standing in the same place where he won a Texas state high school championship a few years ago, the Oklahoma State guard calmly swished two free throws with 2.1 seconds left in overtime, sending the Cowboys to a 65-63 victory over No. 25 Texas on Wednesday night.

Le'Bryan Nash scored 17 points for the Cowboys (15-7, 5-5 Big 12), who led most of the game, only to see Texas rally in the final minute of regulation to tie. Isaiah Taylor scored 18 points for Texas (14-8, 3-6). He had the final six points in regulation, but also missed a free throw that could have won it with 3 seconds left. Texas has lost four in a row.

Texas' Connor Lammert tied the game at 63, making one of 2 free throws with 11.6 seconds left in overtime. Oklahoma State got the ball to Forte, who had struggled most of the second half to find an open shot against a stifling Texas defense. Forte drove to the basket when the lane opened up and drew a foul against Cam Ridley. Forte had been dogged by chants of "air-ball" from the home crowd most of the second half, but silenced the Erwin Center by making both shots to lift the Cowboys to their first Big 12 road win of the season.

Texas had a final chance to win, but Taylor's long, running 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the side of the rim. Forte finished with 14 points. Anthony Hickey added 15 points for the Cowboys. Demarcus Holland scored 14 points for Texas, making three 3-pointers in the second half as Texas rallied and recovered from a sloppy first half that saw the Longhorns commit 13 turnovers.

2/7/15   Kansas Jayhawks @ OSU Cowboys

Storming the court after beating Kansas is becoming routine for Oklahoma State students. Le'Bryan Nash scored 18 points to help the Cowboys upset the eighth-ranked Jayhawks 67-62 on Saturday. Cowboys fans stormed the floor for the second straight year, and Oklahoma State has now beaten Kansas in four of the past six meetings in Stillwater. The Cowboys trailed this one by 11 at halftime, but their pressure defense held the Jayhawks to 27 percent shooting in the second half. Phil Forte, Oklahoma State's leading scorer for the season, had the flu and was limited to 29 minutes. He finished with 13 points after throwing up before the game. Anthony Hickey added 15 points for the Cowboys (16-7, 6-5 Big 12), who were coming off a road win at No. 25 Texas on Wednesday. Wayne Selden Jr. scored 15 points, and Perry Ellis, Frank Mason III and Brannen Greene each added 10 points for the Jayhawks (19-4, 8-2), who had won five straight. Nash's spinning left-handed layup put the Cowboys up 59-52 with 7:21 to play. Kansas rallied back, but a steal by Jeff Newberry led to a fast-break layup by Hickey that gave Oklahoma State a 65-61 lead with 2:32 remaining. Nash missed the front end of a one-and-one with 53 seconds left to give Kansas a chance, but the Jayhawks couldn't score, and Hickey made a layup at the other end to make it a 67-62 game with 20 seconds to play. Kansas led 16-13 when Nash was called for a charge, his second foul, with 10:52 left in the first half. With Nash on the bench, Kansas went on a 10-1 run to take a 26-14 lead. Kansas boosted its edge to 30-17 before the Cowboys rallied. Mitchell Solomon's baseline jam on a nice find by Newberry cut Kansas' lead to 30-24, forced a timeout and brought the crowd back into the game. A 3-pointer by Greene in the final minute of the half put the Jayhawks up 41-30 at the break. Kansas shot 57 percent in the first half to overcome 11 turnovers. Oklahoma State opened the second half with a flurry. A dunk by Michael Cobbins cut Kansas' lead to 42-38 two minutes in. A 3-pointer by Hickey cut Oklahoma State's deficit to a point, Forte's 3-pointer put the Cowboys ahead, and it was a game the rest of the way. Members of the school's 1995 Final Four team and businessman T. Boone Pickens were on hand. Pickens, an Oklahoma State graduate, has donated more than $500 million to his alma mater. Former Coach Eddie Sutton and former star post player Bryant Reeves were among those in attendance.

2/10/15   OSU Cowboys @ Texas Longhorns

The Cowboys hit the road on Tuesday, heading to Waco, TX to take on the Baylor Bears (18-5, 6-4 in the big 12). Tip-off time is 6 pm, and you can catch all the action with Dave Hunsiker and the Cowboys Pre-Game Show at 5 o’clock Tuesday night on My107 & my1073fm.com.