Regular Season Ends On Rough Note For Cowboys

3/04/15 Iowa State Cyclones @ OSU Cowboys

In honor of `Senior Night,' commemorating the final home game for each of Oklahoma State's six seniors, Coach Travis Ford started reserves Marek Soucek and Christian Sager, along with usual starting seniors Le' Bryan Nash, Anthony Hickey and Michael Cobbins. The move paid off almost immediately, as Soucek connected on a 3-pointer just 16 seconds in for a quick 3-0 lead, and then Sager came up with a steal at 1:04 to end TCU's first offensive possession. In the end, it was fitting that on Senior Night, Oklahoma State's top two seniors led the way.

Le'Bryan Nash and Anthony Hickey each scored 20 points to lead Oklahoma State to an 82-70 victory over TCU Wednesday night. Hickey scored 18 of his points in the second half, while also adding five assists for Oklahoma State (18-11, 8-9 Big 12). It was an important win for the Cowboys, who tumbled out of the Top 25 rankings and damaged its previously-strong lock on an NCAA tournament bid following a four-game losing streak. Kyan Anderson scored 23 points, all in the second half, along with four rebounds and four assists, for TCU (17-13, 4-13), which is 3-3 in its last six after losing seven in a row.

The Cowboys trailed 25-20 late in the first half when they finally found their game, reeling off a 32-8 run over an 11-minute span encompassing the end of the first half and beginning of the second. That stretch included 13 straight points early in the second half, as OSU surged to a commanding 52-33 lead when Nash put home a layup while falling, then capped off the three-point play with a free throw, with 14:48 remaining. That play was similar to several that Nash made throughout the game, battling his way to the basket and either drawing fouls or making the basket, or both.

TCU used a 9-3 run to pull within 72-60 with 5:32 left, but OSU responded with five straight points and never led by less than 12 points the rest of the way. Neither team got off to a strong start, with TCU taking a 9-5 lead on Amric Fields' layup seven minutes into the contest. Oklahoma State had missed 11 straight field goal attempts when Jeffrey Carroll hit a 3-pointer from the right side with 11:12 left in the first half to make it 9-8.
Neither team managed more than a six-point lead over the next 11 minutes, although Oklahoma State closed the first half on a 14-5 run to take a 34-30 advantage into halftime.

3/07/15 OSU Cowboys @ West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia didn't squander a double-digit lead this time even with injured seniors Juwan Staten and Gary Browne in street clothes for their final home game.

Devin Williams tied a career-high with 22 points to lead the 20th-ranked Mountaineers to an 81-72 victory over Oklahoma State in the teams' regular-season finale Saturday. The Cowboys' only lead came on the game's first basket, a 3-pointer by Jeff Newberry.

The Mountaineers (23-8, 11-7 Big 12) ended a two-game losing streak and earned their best regular-season record since getting 24 wins in 2009-10 en route to the Final Four. With no seniors in the lineup on Senior Day, Williams and a group of first-year players sent them out a winner at home.

Using the same lineup that led No. 9 Kansas by as many as 18 points before the Mountaineers lost in overtime on the road Tuesday night, West Virginia went ahead to stay early against Oklahoma State. Freshman Daxter Miles Jr. added 15 points for West Virginia. Williams had 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Most of Williams' work came from the free throw line, where he went 14 of 15.

Williams' three-point play staked West Virginia to a 53-39 lead early in the second half before the Mountaineers went scoreless over the next 3 minutes. Phil Forte made two 3-pointers in between getting poked in his right eye to bring Oklahoma State within 55-49, but the Cowboys got no closer. Jaysean Paige hit a baseline jumper and a 3-pointer during an 8-0 run that put West Virginia ahead 65-50 with 6:43 left.

Jeff Newberry scored a career-high 23 points on 8 of 11 shooting for Oklahoma State. Anthony Hickey added 17 points, Forte had 13 and Le'Bryan Nash 10. The Cowboys shot 54 percent (26 of 48) for the game but were outscored 23-9 from the free throw line. OSU (18-12, 8-10) head into the conference tournament with losses in five of their last six games.

3/12/15 OSU Cowboys vs Oklahoma Sooners

The Big-12 playoffs are underway this week, and the Cowboys open them up with a neutral site game against the Oklahoma Sooners, as both teams travel to Kansas City to begin the final drive to the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off time for the contest is 8 pm, and you can catch all the action, starting with Dave Hunsiker and the Cowboys Pre-game Show at 7 o’clock Thursday night on My107 and my1073fm.com.