By Steve Habel/Senior Editor
AUSTIN, Texas — One could almost feel the collective crowd at the Frank Erwin Center groan with anguish as Texas guard Kerwin Roach II dribbled out the final seconds of the game Saturday against Oklahoma State.
Longhorns coach Shaka Smart put the game, win or lose, in Roach’s hands, but with four seconds remaining, Roach’s path to the basket, or to pass or shoot, was blocked by three Cowboy defenders who were protecting a one-point lead.
Somehow, somehow, Roach found a sliver of room with which to work, scooted through it and made his way to the rim, banking home a contested layup with 1.3 seconds to play to lift the shorthanded Longhorns past Oklahoma State, 65-64, in a thrilling, back-and-worth, rollercoaster of a Big 12 Conference game.
Roach, working the clock 30 feet from [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]the basket on a possession that began with 18.5 seconds to play, slashed his way to the rim while being double-teamed to make the winning shot and take a huge load off the backs of the Longhorns and most of the 12,316 fans in the arena.
“Coach believed in me to go make the play and get the win,” Roach said after the game. “I had three people on me, but I wanted to see what I could do. It was a win we needed — we need them all — and we found a way. This just puts us in a better position than a loss would have.”
The game seesawed between the two teams at the end, with seven lead changes in the final 2:09. The final score was the exact one the two teams produced Jan. 13 in Stillwater in the first meeting this season, with the opposite result.
“We wanted to get the ball in Snoop’s (Roach’s) hands because he is so good at finding the seam and getting to the basket with his opposite hand,” Smart said. “Our guys hung together and made the one play that we needed. When we got down, we were able to fight back by being aggressive.
Dylan Osetkowski led the Longhorns (17-12 overall, 7-9 in Big 12 play) with 13 points and 9 rebounds while Roach and Jacob Young added 12 each and Jericho Sims hit for 11 to help UT win for the second time in its last three games.
Jeffrey Carroll paced the Cowboys (16-13 overall, 6-10 in Big 12 play) with 19 points with Lindy Waters III adding 14 and Kendall Smith scoring nine, seven of which came in the final three minutes. Mitchell Solomon took down 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State, which has lost three of its past four games.
Texas played without guard Eric Davis Jr., who will not be allowed in game action while the school conducts an internal investigation into a Yahoo Sports report alleging Davis received $1,500 in advance payments from ASM Sports. The school announced the suspension Friday.
The Longhorns’ Mohamed Bamba sat out the second half because of a toe injury. He scored just two points (on a tip-in) and grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes of court tome in the first half.
Young and Sims played huge roles in the win because of the men the Longhorns had out of commission and, for the most part, they thrived in the spotlight.
“It’s up to us all to step up and make plays with the guys we have out,” Young said. “I just have to have the confidence to make the shot when it’s my turn to bring a spark to the team.
The Longhorns led 33-28 after a first half in which after both teams shot around 36 percent. Oklahoma State scored the first seven points of the game but Texas roared back to lead by eight in the waning seconds of the half.
Carroll paced the Cowboys with 10 points in the first half while Jericho Sims and Osetkowski led Texas with seven points.
Oklahoma State began the second half with eight straight points and that started a 16-2 run that granted it a 45-35 lead with 15:06 to play in the game. But the Longhorns answered with a 17-6 run of their own to tie the contest at 52 with 6:56 remaining and to set the table for the furious finish.
“We were a little more disciplined early in the second half, which allowed us to get the lead but Texas just made one more play at the end that we did,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “We have to get better late in the game and get just one stop. I don’t think we stopped them at all in the final minutes.”
Texas has two regular-season games remaining, traveling to No. 8 Kansas Monday and then hosting No. 21 West Virginia March 3.
“We needed this win bad and we were willing to do whatever it took to get it,” Osetkowski said. “We were able to focus on this game and make the plays we had to have at the end.”
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