Texas Holds On To Beat Oklahoma State 74-69
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AUSTIN (AP) — Isaiah Taylor scored 18 points, including four free throws in the final 13 seconds, and Texas held on to beat Oklahoma State 74-69 Saturday night after squandering most of a 23-point second-half lead.
Eric Davis added 12 points for Texas (11-6, 3-2 Big 12), one more than Kerwin Roach Jr.
Leyton Hammonds led Oklahoma State (9-8, 1-4) with 18 points. Jawun Evans had 12 for the Cowboys three days after scoring 42, an Oklahoma State freshman record, against Oklahoma. Texas limited Evans to 13 shots, 18 fewer than he attempted against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State trailed by 23 with 15 minutes remaining in the game. But Texas allowed the Cowboys back into the game by missing 14 of 16 3-point shots and 8 of 22 free throws in the second half.
The Cowboys cut the deficit to three on a basket by Anthony Allen with 2:47 left. But Javan Felix countered with a pair of free throws, and Davis made a driving shot with 40 seconds remaining and a pair of free throws 20 seconds later.
Texas led 40-25 at halftime after slow start. The Longhorns missed their first five 3-point shots but converted 5 of 10 the rest of the half, two of them by Davis.
The Longhorns also received a boost from Shaquille Cleare, a 6-foot-8 reserve who worked inside to produce six points - double his average - after they missed those five 3-pointers.
Texas did superior work on defense during the half, limiting Oklahoma State to 34.6 percent accuracy and Evans to four shots and five points. Evans, forced to give up the ball, did assist on six of the seven Cowboys baskets that he did not score.
TIP-INS
Oklahoma State: Before Saturday, the Cowboys won six of their last seven games against Texas. The only defeat during that stretch came on Feb. 21, 2014 when Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart was serving a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan. . Oklahoma State began the day ranked ninth of 10 Big 12 teams in scoring with 70.2 points a game.
Texas: Longhorns coach Shaka Smart removed starting center Prince Ibeh from the game with 9:10 left in the first half after he picked up his second foul. Texas played the rest of the half with the only two men left in the rotation, Connor Lammert and Shaquille Cleare. . The Longhorns face a rough stretch next week with games at No. 11 West Virginia on Wednesday and No. 1 Kansas on Saturday. West Virginia beat Kansas on Tuesday in Morgantown.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State hosts Kansas on Tuesday
Texas is at West Virginia on Wednesday
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