Horns battle back but fall short to OK State
Trailing big at halftime, the Texas Men’s Basketball team put together a run out of the break and nearly caught up to Oklahoma City, but a 3-pointer to tie it at the buzzer fell short in a 61-58 road loss Tuesday night in Stillwater, Okla.
It was a fitting end for the Longhorns as the story of the game came from beyond the arc, where Texas shot a woeful 2-for-22 on 3-pointers in the loss. Texas was unable to overcome a very sluggish first half against the Cowboys (7-8, 1-2), falling behind 39-22 at halftime before the late rally in the second half.
Kerwin Roach II put up 18 points to lead the Longhorns (10-5, 2-1 in Big 12) and added seven rebounds, with Jaxon Hayes pitching in with 13 points, six boards and four blocks.
Trailing by 16 points nearly halfway through the second half, Texas went on a 9-0 spurt to close the gap to 48-41 when Roach connected on a layup with 8:27 left to play in the game. The lead got back up to 10 when, again, the ‘Horns went on a run and got the lead all the way down to one point at 59-58 with a mere 11 seconds remaining thanks to a lay-in by Matt Coleman III.
The ‘Horns were forced to foul following the bucket by Coleman, and Isaac Likekele sunk both free throws to give the Cowboys a much-needed three-point lead considering Texas’ ineptitude from distance.
A 3-pointer from Courtney Ramey missed as the buzzer sounded, sending the ‘Horns to their first loss in Big 12 Conference play.
Dylan Ostekowski tallied nine points and four rebounds, and Coleman had a team-high four assists.
Oklahoma State held leads of 10-3 and 27-12 with the Longhorns unable to find a rhythm on the road.
The Longhorns look to get back in the win column on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Texas Tech at the Erwin Center
