TCU 73, Oklahoma State 79: Comeback Thwarted

The TCU Horned Frogs had trouble escaping the wintery conditions to reach Stillwater for Saturday’s key Big 12 showdown with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, bringing ice cold shooting to the first half. The Frogs were again without starters Eddie Lampkin and Mike Miles and the TCU stars were sorely missed as the Horned Frogs late rally fell short in a 79-73 loss on Saturday afternoon. TCU trailed by as much as 19 before a few big 2nd half runs had the Frogs ahead with four minutes to play, but the Cowboys answered with 5-straight points from John-Michael Wright and OSU put the game out of reach.

First Half:

The Cowboys opened the game with 12 straight points as the Horned Frogs did not make a field goal until over 6 minutes into the game. The Frogs were severely outmatched in the paint with Eddie Lampkin unavailable, as OSU Forward Kalib Boone scored 12 first half points and the Cowboys pulled down 20 rebounds. OSU was also lighting it up from outside in the first half, draining six 3-pointers as Guards Asberry & Wright combine for 19 first half points. TCU meanwhile was completely out of sorts in the opening frame: shooting 1-10 from 3-point range. The half ended with the Frogs trailing by 14 after a bucket by Emanuel Miller, but it felt the divide could’ve been much worse.

Second Half:

As it turned out, the divide would get worse as the Cowboys extended the lead out to 19 points before a Miller 3-pointer began the Frogs’ climb out of the massive hole it had dug. It was the spark the Frogs needed, propelling TCU on a 15-1 run over the next five minutes of game time to narrow the deficit to just 5 points. This period included an incredible sequence from Chuck O’Bannon where he splashed a 3, stepped in front of a lazy pass for a steal, taking it the distance for a jam

A series of 5 made free throws from Damion Baugh and Emanuel Miller gave TCU its first lead of the game with just over five minutes to play. After trading a few baskets, the Frogs took a lead as Souleymane Doumbia dropped in his only points of the game to give TCU a 2-point lead with under four minutes to play. The Frogs appeared to have all the momentum after taking taking the wind out of the Cowboys’ sails by eliminating the huge lead. It would be the last lead TCU would hold and that momentum would be eliminated as Jamie Dixon called a timeout immediately following the bucket, allowing Mike Boynton to draw up a play to get Wright an open 3 to take back the lead it’d never relinquish. OK State went on a 9-point run that pushed its lead to 7 points with 2 minutes to play. But TCU wasn’t dead yet. cutting it to 2 again thanks to a trailing fast break three from Shahada Wells. But in the final minute TCU could not get a shot to drop, while the Cowboys were able to make its free throws to secure a huge victory for its post-season hopes.

Oklahoma State improves to 14-9 on the season and an even 5-5 in Big 12 play and will get another game in the comforts of Gallagher-Iba when las-place Texas Tech comes to Stillwater on Wednesday night on ESPN+.

The Horned Frogs now fall into the four-way tie for 3rd in the Big 12 with a 6-4 conference record, dropping to 17-6 overall. TCU now enters a grueling stretch, heading right back out on the road, traveling to Manhattan for #7 Kansas State on Tuesday on ESPNU. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from losses on Saturday as the Wildcats dropped a tight contest to the current Big 12 leading Texas Longhorns.