Cade Cunningham knocked down three free throws with 27 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and the Oklahoma State Cowboys outscored Texas Tech 14-9 in the free period to knock off the No. 13 Red Raiders, 82-77.
The Red Raiders were led offensively by Mac McClung, who scored 21 points off of 7-15 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Kyler Edwards, 18 points and 4-9 from behind the arc, and Terrence Shannon, Jr., 13 points on 4-5 shooting, were the only other two Red Raiders to record double-figure performances.
Cunningham’s three free throws at the end of the 2nd half contributed to his 13 total points. The freshman was one of four players who finished in double-figures for the Cowboys, who were led by Isaac Likelele and Avery Anderson with 17 points each.
The Cowboys came out firing from the field in the first half by hitting four of their first five shots, two of which courtesy of a Bryce Williams three-ball to open up an early 10-4 lead.
However, the good start was just beginning for the Cowboys. Williams and Likelele would each add another three-pointer to give Oklahoma State, who started the game a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc, a 22-10 lead with 12:18 left in the first half.
Williams finished the game with 15 points.
The 22 points given up early on is the most Tech has allowed in the first eight minutes of a game all season.
“In the first half, we got kicked because Oklahoma State was the more aggressive team,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said after the game.
After a timeout by Beard, the Red Raiders answered with a 10-2 run thanks to back-to-back threes by Edwards and McClung combined with a pair of free throws and a layup by Shannon, Jr.
Texas Tech would trim the first half, nearly wire-to-wire Oklahoma State lead to as much as three following a McClung three-pointer with 6:29 left.
The Red Raiders would score just five points from that point to the end of the first half with Tyreek Smith’s and-one basket at the 2:27 mark being the only field goal.
The Cowboys won most of the battles in the first 20 minutes including field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounding, and turnovers.
Most notably for Mike Boynton’s squad, they took a 37-28 advantage into the locker room.
“First half we got out-toughed. That hasn’t happened a lot to our team,” Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. “We don’t get out-toughed a lot.”
The comeback effort started with 16:37 left in the game when Avery Benson found Smith who slammed home the backdoor pass. From there, the Red Raiders would pile together a 9-0 run, aided by a span of an over five-minute scoring drought by the Cowboys.
A quick 4-0 run by Oklahoma State gave way to a 6-0 burst from Tech, capped off by a free throw from Marcus Santos-Silva with 8:58 left to tie the game at 49.
For the next four minutes, the two teams would showcase nearly flawless offense as the Red Raiders and Cowboys combined to miss just one field goal during the span, which provided eight lead changes.
Kevin McCullar made a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left to lift Tech to a 68-65 lead, which gave way to the key play of the game.
With 27 seconds left, McCullar was whistled for a foul on a Cunningham three-point attempt. As boos poured down from across the United Supermarkets Arena in response to the call, Cunningham sank all three foul shots to tie the game at 68 apiece.
Texas Tech had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but before they could get a shot off, Edwards was whistled for a moving screen with four seconds remaining.
Oklahoma State also failed to get a shot off at the end of regulation, giving way to overtime.
The free basketball period started off promising for the Red Raiders and Mac McClung who hit a three-pointer in the first possession.
That, however, would be the last lead for Tech and the last points for McClung.
The Cowboys responded with the most damaging run of the game, 10-1, to open up a six-point lead with 1:53 left in the period.
On the heels of a pair of missed free throws, Kyler Edwards sank a three-ball with 51 seconds left, courtesy of a second-chance opportunity created by Shannon, to cut the lead to three.
Texas Tech knew they needed a stop defensively and a three-pointer on the other end to force a second overtime period. They got the former as Edwards pulled down his seventh rebound, tied for the team lead with Shannon, after a miss from Likelele.
Once again with the shot clock turned off and the game on the line, Tech was unable to get a shot off as Edwards threw the ball away for Tech’s 14th and final turnover.
The Red Raiders presented their fourth different starting five of the season which featured McCullar for the first time. The sophomore tied for the team lead in his season debut Tuesday against Incarnate Word with 11 points after previously missing the first nine games of the season due to a high ankle sprain. He finished with nine in the loss against the Cowboys.
Texas Tech will have a quick turnaround as they welcome in Kansas State on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tip-off at the United Supermarkets Arena.
“I’m not a big believer in bouncing back,” Beard said. “I’m a believer in an 18-round fight called the Big 12. I think this bounce back stuff is overrated.”
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