Mark Adams, Kevin Obanor, and his family smile during the Senior Night presentation. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Kevin Obanor waves during his Senior Night presentation. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Kevin Obanor throws down a dunk. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
De’Vion Harmon dribbles towards the paint. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Lamar Washington dribbles towards the basket with pressure from Moussa Cisse. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Elijah Fisher goes up for a layup. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Lamar Washington and Jaylon Tyson double cover OSU’s Bryce Thompson. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Coach Adams talks to D’Maurian Williams before free throws are shot. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Fardaws Aimaq gets high fives from Jaylon Tyson and Kevin Obanor after being fouled. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Lamar Washington goes up for a layup with pressure from OSU’s Tyreek Smith. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Coach Adams gives a “Guns Up” during the Matador Song. (Photo by Andrew Watters) 
Fardaws Aimaq and Robert Jennings talk during The Matador Song. (Photo by Andrew Watters)
Texas Tech lost its third straight Big 12 game to close out the regular season. In what has been a season full of close losses and near comebacks, the regular season finale against Oklahoma State looked like a microcosm of Tech’s entire 2022-2023 season as the Red Raiders fell to the Cowboys 71-68.
All eyes were on forward Kevin Obanor- the only Red Raider in his final year of eligibility- during Tech’s Senior Day game against Oklahoma State. Obanor and the Red Raiders have faced plenty of adversity in what has been a difficult season, and in the regular season finale against OSU, adversity was plentiful.
The Cowboys raced out to an early double-digit lead, but some timely baskets from Red Raider guards Lamar Washington and Pop Isaacs helped cut the first half deficit to three.
Tech continued its up-hill climb as the game wore on, but every time the Red Raiders looked ready to take charge, OSU countered with timely plays to keep Tech at bay.
The Red Raiders trailed by as many as thirteen in the second half, but an offensive flurry led by guard Jaylon Tyson and center Fardaws Aimaq helped Tech back into the game.
With just over two minutes to play, Tyson drilled a three-pointer to give Tech its first lead of the game. The lead was short-lived as OSU’s Caleb Asberry returned the favor and gave the Cowboys the lead back on the following possession.
A late three from Pop Isaacs gave Tech a glimmer of hope, but there was not enough time left, and the Red Raiders dropped its third Big 12 game in a row to close out the regular season.
Red Raider head coach Mark Adams said it was a disappointing loss for a plethora of reasons, but mainly because the team could not pull out a win for Kevin Obanor.
“It’s just frustrating, you know we wanted to win this for a lot of reasons, but mainly for Kevin Obanor,” Adams said. “He’s been a special person and special player for this program in the last two years and somewhat of a cornerstone of this team.”
Obanor finished with just five points, but pulled in seven rebounds and recorded a block.
Adams said Obanor did not have one of his best individual performances, but played extremely hard with the rest of the team.
“He didn’t have one of his best games, I know he was playing as hard as he could, but we were all trying as hard as we could to play for him and also we’d love to have gotten a home win for our fans,” Adams said. “We had another great crowd, and we just thank our fans and our students for not giving up on us and cheering us on, it means a lot to our players, our staff and our program.”
The Red Raiders have played their last game of the regular season, but still have at least one more basketball game left. Tech will take on West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday in Kansas City.
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