Oklahoma State Basketball Drops Close Thriller to St. Bonaventure
The Oklahoma State Cowboys traveled to Brooklyn, NY to participate in the Vivid Seats Legends Classic in a four-team tournament with Auburn, Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure, who they played in their first matchup of the tournament.
As mentioned, the Cowboys took on the St. Bonaventure first and got off to a solid start, jumping to a 10-2 lead. This wouldn't hold, though, as the Bonnies quickly got back into the game.
The Bonnies then got as much as a six-point lead in the first half, but the Cowboys would weather the storm before halftime. The Bonnies led the Cowboys 30-29 at the break.
To get the second half started, the Bonnies scored five points, but the Cowboys responded with a 14-0 run to take a commanding lead. As cadence continued, the Bonnies would bounce back, this time having a 14-1 run of their own to recapture a three-point lead. This happened over halfway through the second half, forcing Oklahoma State into a timeout.
The timely timeout helped the Cowboys recapture some of the momentum and punch back, making this a tight one deep into clutch time.
With around two minutes to go, the Cowboys took a lead behind a John Michael-Wright and-one followed by a transition layup from Eric Dailey Jr.
The Cowboys' inability to be disciplined and fouling 90 feet away from the basket caused the game to be squared off at 62 points apiece with under a minute to go, but Quion Williams scored a bucket to give the Cowboys a two-point lead with under 35 seconds left in the game.
Instead of chewing the clock, the Bonnies opted for a shot they wanted, as they attempted a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. Though Daryl Banks missed the shot, he was fouled and made each of the three free throws to give the Bonnies a 65-64 lead.
With what could have been the final possession, the Cowboys were forced into a bad shot and were forced to foul with eight seconds remaining. St. Bonaventure split the free throws and the Cowboys would get one more shot to tie or win the game.
Small had to advance the ball full court, which he did before getting off a clean attempt to win the game from the 3-point line. He missed the shot, though, and the Cowboys fall to 1-2 on the season.
The Cowboys were led by freshman Eric Dailey Jr., who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
They'll play the loser of Auburn and Notre Dame on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Kade has been covering a wide variety of teams ranging from the NFL to the NBA and college athletics since joining Sports Illustrated's On SI in 2022