Allen’s double-double not enough to lift men’s basketball at Oklahoma State

By Steve Lansdale

STILLWATER, Okla. — Freshman forward Jarrett Allen scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year, but the rest of the Texas men’s basketball team shot just 40 percent from the floor, and the Longhorns fell, 84-71, at Oklahoma State.

Allen’s 18 points marked the 18^th time this season and 11^th in Big 12 games that he has scored at least 10 points in his debut season. Saturday was the 10^th time and sixth time in against conference opponents that he had double-digit rebounds.

Guards Andrew Jones and Kerwin Roach, Jr., added 16 and 13 points, respectively, but [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]four Cowboys scored in double figures, led by Phil Forte and Jeffrey Carroll, who scored 18 points apiece as the Cowboys snapped a three-game losing streak against UT, which fell to 10-15 on the season, including 4-8 against Big 12 opponents.

Texas maintains a 30-18 record against OSU since the inception of the Big 12.

“Any loss is a setback,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said. “I think Oklahoma State played terrific today. I thought they played with a real pace to them, a real aggressiveness. I think they had a great sense of urgency coming off their last game, a close game against Baylor, and coming off the fact that we won a close game at our place. So, first of all, a lot of credit should go to them and the way they played today.

“In terms of us, I thought we started the game with good connectivity and a good understanding of what we wanted to do. But they built a lead with a big run with about eight or nine minutes left in the first half. We responded decent at the end of the half. They threw in a fortunate shot, and then we scored at the very end. So, I actually thought the way we shot free throws and the way we shot the ball from outside at halftime, we weren’t in a terrible spot. We didn’t come out of the half playing near the level of defense or type of intensity we needed to have, so from that standpoint, it wasn’t good enough and Oklahoma State had a lot to do with that.”

Oklahoma State, which improved to 16-9 (5-7 in Big 12 games) opened the second half with a decisive 10-0 run, capped by a Carroll three-pointer at the 18:05 mark, to build a 48-33 lead, and did not allow the Longhorns to cut the margin to single digits for the rest of the game.

UT will stay north of the Red River for Tuesday’s 8 p.m. game at Oklahoma. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.

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