Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Tennessee
Cowboys Fall to Tennessee in Nashville 79-77
December 19, 2006 | Cowboy Basketball
Byron Eaton lobbed the ball downcourt, Mario Boggan caught it and threw up a last shot for Oklahoma State (11-1), but it bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Oklahoma State came in with its best start since going 13-0 to start the 2001-02 season, but this was the Cowboys' first game in a week because of finals and their first without their third-leading scorer. Freshman guard Obi Muonelo broke his ankle in practice Saturday.
The Volunteers (9-2) used their deeper bench and got the Cowboys into foul trouble early in a physical, sloppy game. It worked as they wore down Oklahoma State in the final minutes.
Boggan finished with 20 for Oklahoma State. Terrel Harris scored 17, JamesOn Curry added 11 and Kenny Cooper had 11.
Chris Lofton led Tennessee with 20. Freshman Duke Crews had a season-high 17 and JaJuan Smith had 14.
Curry fouled out after Lofton stole the ball from him as he tried to bring it upcourt with 2:48 left. Three other Cowboys, including Boggan, played with four each.
Bradshaw led the Vols to the upset by hitting one free throw for a 75-74 lead with 2:54 left and forcing a steal in the final seconds. And when Ramar Smith missed a shot, Bradshaw was there to tip it in.
The senior guard started despite an aching right shoulder that will be examined Tuesday.
This is the second straight season these teams have played. Oklahoma State won 89-73 last year in Oklahoma City, and the rematch came in what the Cowboys kindly termed a ``semi-neutral'' court.
Oklahoma State never led by more than seven, and that was only at 55-48. The teams swapped the lead five times with two ties in the final 6:27.
The Cowboys outshot Tennessee 54.5 percent to 41.8 percent, but the Vols forced 23 turnovers and turned those into 31 points.
Oklahoma State started sluggishly and didn't hit its first shot until 16:47 on a bucket by Boggan.
Tennessee had no such problems, hitting six of its first nine shots, and the Vols led 16-6 early.
The Cowboys took their first lead with an 11-0 spurt capped by a bucket from Cooper. The teams swapped the lead back and forth before Harris scored on a layup with 4:13 to go for a 29-28 lead, and the Cowboys took a 43-37 lead into halftime.
