Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas
Cowboys Lasso Longhorns in Big 12 Title Game
March 18, 2004 | Cowboy Basketball
With three transfers and two holdovers blending into the seventh-ranked team in the nation, the Cowboys continued their combination of tenacious defense and athleticism to beat No. 11 Texas 65-49 Sunday to win their first Big 12 tournament title.
Tony Allen scored 21 points and led a defense that kept the Longhorns without a field goal for nearly 14 of the final 15 minutes, turning a three-point game into a rout.
Allen circled the court, jumping and punching the air, when time expired. John Lucas III dived near the free throw line and practically the entire team piled on in celebration of their first postseason tournament crown since winning the Big 8 in 1995.
Then Oklahoma State (27-3) waited to see if its two Big 12 titles would be good enough for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Considered a long shot for a top seed coming into the weekend, the Cowboys hoped to benefit from losses by four of the six teams ranked ahead of them, including their three immediate predecessors. A factor against them was this game ending shortly before the selections were announced.
The Longhorns (23-7) won't be going into the NCAA tournament on a roll. A Final Four team last season, they have lost three of their last five -- albeit twice to Oklahoma State -- and were down by 12 and 11 in the victories. They also scored under 50 points twice in that span.
Texas was down 16 points in the opening minutes this time, but chipped away to get within 42-39 with 14:48 left on a three-point play by Jason Klotz. The Longhorns had hit 3-pointers on their two previous possessions, an indication the Cowboys' defense was wearing down.
Then Texas' Brian Boddicker sent Oklahoma State's Terrence Crawford flying into his bench while fighting for the rebound of a miss by Lucas. Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton was furious, as was the heavily pro-OSU crowd. When Allen was called for a foul away from the skirmish, emotions went soaring again.
Oklahoma State responded by turning up the defense. The Longhorns didn't make another field until a putback by James Thomas with 57 seconds left got them within 63-47.
Allen, the tournament MVP and the coaches' pick for conference player of the year, set the tone by holding Brandon Mouton, Texas' leading scorer, to more turnovers (four) than field goals (three). Mouton scored six points.
Joey Graham scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half. He picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left, but the Cowboys played through it. Lucas had 15 points, including a 3-pointer between Texas' two longballs when it tightened the game early in the second half.
Despite playing a third game in three days with barely any relief from the bench, the Cowboys were feisty from the start. An early 18-2 run was led by a defense that forced five turnovers and blocked a shot over six straight Texas possessions.
Klotz was the only consistent performer for the Longhorns, scoring 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Thomas was the next-leading scorer with just nine points, five from the line.
In beating Texas for a fourth straight time, Oklahoma State became the league's first winner of the regular season and conference tournament since Iowa State in 2000. The Longhorns fell to 0-2 in Big 12 title games.
