Oklahoma State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Downs TCU, 79-74
June 21, 1999 | Cowboy Basketball
November 29, 1998
STILLWATER, Okla. - The schedule said it was a Big 12 team playing a Western Athletic Conference team, although it seemed more like old times in the Big Eight.
Billy Tubbs returned to Stillwater on Saturday night for the first time since 1994, and his Texas Christian team threw a scare into No. 12 Oklahoma State before losing 79-74.
Tubbs coached 14 seasons at Oklahoma and was always a target of Cowboy fans as his teams went 7-7 in Stillwater. The same was true this time, with the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd chanting "Billy, Billy" as the game wound down.
"It was more like a conference game than a non-conference game," said Tubbs, who was on his best behavior during and after the game. "The crowd was good and both teams gave a heck of an effort."
Adrian Peterson's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:02 left gave the Cowboys (4-0) the lead for good and they held on down the stretch.
Desmond Mason had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Cowboys, who had to work to stretch their non-conference home winning streak to 80 games. Lee Nailon scored 30 for TCU (5-2), 24 in the second half.
Peterson, who finished with 22 points, gave the Cowboys a 76-73 lead with his late 3-pointer.
"We'd run a play to break him open before that and they defended quite well," said Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton. "That wasn't the shot that we designed for him to get, but he jumped up and nailed it and that's what great players do."
Prince Fowler missed a 3-point try with 35 seconds left and Mason rebounded, but was called for traveling.
Nailon got fouled with 20 seconds remaining and made one of two free throws, with Mason grabbing the rebound on the miss. Doug Gottlieb made it 77-74 with a free throw with 17.2 left, then TCU's Vladimir Jaksic missed a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining and Mason sealed the victory with two free throws.
The Horned Frogs widened their two-point halftime lead to six early in the second half, but Oklahoma State came back with a 10-3 run. TCU led by as many as five midway through the half, but another Cowboy run gave them the lead and it stayed a one-possession game the rest of the way.
"They just made the plays down the stretch," Tubbs said.
Nailon scored 18 of 23 points for the Horned Frogs during one stretch in the second half. He took just four shots in the first half, but Ryan Carroll scored 11 and the Horned Frogs held Oklahoma State to 36 percent shooting, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range.
Oklahoma State used a 10-1 run to take a 23-15 lead with 7:37 left before halftime. But Nailon scored four straight and Carroll hit a jumper in the lane and a 3-pointer as the Horned Frogs got within 25-24. An 8-2 run in the final 1:28 gave TCU the lead at the break.
"As poor as we played in the first half, I thought if we played at all in the second half we'd win the game," Tubbs said. "We almost did. It was there for us."
Sutton, meanwhile, felt his team got impatient in the final seven minutes of the half.
"I told the team at halftime, You guys just need to relax. Go out there and do the things that we practice every day.' We went out the second half and played pretty well."
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
