The Cowboys aren’t done fighting.
Oklahoma State beat UCF 111-104 in overtime on Tuesday in Orlando. The win pushes the Pokes to 18-12 on the year and 6-11 in the league. Here are five thoughts on the game.
1. You Gotta Appreciate the Fight
The Cowboys have not let go of the rope.
Their tournament chances were dwindling, leader Parsa Fallah suffered a brutal injury, they were coming off a blowout loss in Cincinnati — and the Pokes just battled on Tuesday.
What makes the win all the more impressive, the Cowboys were down 13 early — the opportunity to give up was there. The Cowboys closed the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 45-40 lead into the break after that early deficit.
The second half was back and forth and then UCF tied it late, with Chris Johnson hitting a game-tying 3 with 11 seconds to play in regulation. So there was another opportunity for OSU to pack up and head home, but then they kept battling through overtime.
OSU was outrebounded 21-18 in the first half before outrebounding the Knights 29-18 in the second half and overtime. OSU had 14 offensive boards and turned those into 18 second-chance points.
It was incredible fight for a team that some would argue have little to fight for.
2. Welcome Back, Anthony Roy
Hop in a time machine with me, and let’s take you back to my writings from Saturday:
“Roy is due”
Well, here it is.
Roy finished with a game-high 27 points on Tuesday after scoring 20 total points in the Cowboys’ past three games.
He was particularly massive for the Pokes in the second half, where he scored 17 on 5-for-10 shooting while going 2-for-4 from 3 and 5-for-5 from the foul line.
His toughest bucket, in my opinion, came with 9:02 to play in regulation. The Cowboys trailed 63-61 before Roy drove to the hole, hit his shot and got fouled, converting the and-one and giving the Cowboys the lead.
That bucket started a spree that saw Roy score 13 points across the next 4:16.
It was the type of performance the Cowboys needed from Roy, and he provided it.
3. Curry on a Nice Run
Jaylen Curry kept the Pokes afloat in the first half, continuing what’s been a nice run of form for the junior point guard.
He scored 16 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
Curry has scored in double figures in the Cowboys’ past three games, a stretch that he’s averaged 14 points a game. This comes after a five-game stretch where Curry averaged just 4.4 points a game.
Perhaps the catalyst to this run has been the 3-point shot. Curry went 3-for-3 from deep in the Cowboys’ OT win against West Virginia last week, part of a 15-point night. He went 1-for-2 from deep Tuesday night. He was 2-for-9 from deep in that aforementioned five-game stretch.
Even if Curry isn’t shooting 3s, the threat that he can pull up and fire should draw defenders out further. Then he has elite quickness, so if a defender does get too aggressive, he can blow by them.
After the Cowboys’ win against West Virginia last week, Lutz said he knows Curry is a capable 3-point shooter by the work he puts in outside of games, but they just hadn’t bee falling in the games. It might be averaging out now.
4. Gutsy Performances Everywhere
This game was filled with guys just leaving it out there.
Kanye Clary scored 23 points, five rebounds and three assists before fouling out in OT. The three assists honestly seem low, but there were a few nice dimes on pick-and-rolls with Andrija Vukovic and Ben Ahmed.
His clutch gene showed late, scoring eight points in the final five minutes of regulation before hitting a big 3 and four free throws in OT to ice the game.
Isaiah Coleman and Christian Coleman both stood out in a stat that means more than any other: when they were on the floor, the Pokes were winning. Christian was a team-best +15 while Isaiah wasn’t far behind at +12.
Andrijia Vukovic is clearly hurt. Then on top of that he got a visible scratch all the way down his face early in the game. At one point Vukovic subbed out and it didn’t look like he’d be back in, but then Ahmed fouled out.
Vukovic then had four points and three rebounds (two offensive) in OT. He finished with seven points, 10 boards and a pair of blocks.
Ahmed fouled out, which has been an issue in extended minutes, but it’s only because he plays so hard. He scored a career-high 10 points to go with five rebounds, a block and a steal in 17 minutes. He fills the stat sheet, fouls included, quickly when he’s on the floor.
There were so many performances that stood out.
5. Officially Better Than Last Year
Year 2 of the Steve Lutz Era now features more wins that Year 1.
Oklahoma State is now 18-12, and this marks the Cowboys’ second Quad 1 win of the season. It’s OSU’s sixth win in the Big 12 this year and marks Lutz’s second Big 12 road win as the Cowboys’ coach.
The bad news is that it further highlights those TCU and Arizona State games the Cowboys want a redo at. The NCAA Tournament is unlikely but still not impossible. If OSU would’ve gotten two of those games, it might be a likelihood at this point.
OSU hosts Houston on Saturday to close out the regular season. The Cougars will try to shove the Pokes in a locker because that’s what Kelvin Sampson teams do, but the game provides the Cowboys one final regular season opportunity to pretty their resume before what would be a super important Big 12 Tournament next week.
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.
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