by STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Tavarius Shine and Jeffrey Carroll each poured in 17 points for Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys couldn’t hold off the Mountaineers in the second half in a 85-79 loss to No. 7 West Virginia Friday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
OSU led by seven early in the second half, but West Virginia rode Teddy Allen, who scored 13 of his team-high points over the final 20 minutes and led the Mountaineers their 12th straight win.
Brandon Averette hit a 3-point play with 34 seconds to play that cut the WVU lead to 81-79, but the Mountaineers hit four free throws in the final 23 seconds to ice the game.
The Cowboys entered the game as the nation’s No. 2 free throw shooting team, but went just 11 of 19 from the line in the second half.
Oklahoma State, which led by as much as nine in the first half, shot 64 percent in the opening frame, which is the best half shooting percentage since they shot 65.2 percent in the first half against Texas Tech on Jan. 21, 2017. The 46 points OSU scored in the first half are the most WVU allowed in a first half this season.
Oklahoma State forced 18 turnovers, which is the most the Mountaineers have had in a game this season.
Mitchell Solomon proved why he is leading the Big 12 in offensive rebounding this season. He hauled in four offensive rebounds in this game to finish with nine points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Lindy Waters, III, (Kiowa/Cherokee) added 13 points and had 4 steals.
BIG PICURE
The Cowboys have played well in Mike Boynton’s first season as coach. Each of their three losses have come against top-10 teams: No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 7 West Virginia and No. 8 Wichita State. Pushing the Mountaineers to the end should give them confidence going forward into conference play.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State travels to Norman to play No. 12 Oklahoma on Wednesday.
