Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Missouri
Cowboy Comeback Falls Short Against Mizzou, 97-95
January 22, 2009 | Cowboy Basketball
Missouri took it to the Cowboys early and hard, taking a 6-0 lead to start the game and up 17-8 at the 14:39 mark. Midway through the first period, the Tigers were up 16 and appeared to be running away. OSU looked confused at times, giving up uncontested layups and running around in circles.
The Pokes trimmed the first-half lead down to five with just under five minutes remaining before intermission on a three pointer by freshman Keiton Page. But, Mizzou kept banging it inside, scoring two of its 54 points in the paint on a dunk by Laurence Bowers to amek it 52-38 with a minute to go before halftime. Another trey by Page and a free throw by Obi Muonelo had the Cowboys trailing 52-42 at the break.
Missouri extended its lead to 20 with 12:32 to play. That's when the Pokes started chipping away at the margin. OSU cut the lead down to 15 with under four minutes left in the game, and went on a 15-3 run to cut it to one. During that span, Terrel Harris scored six points during one stretch down the court. He stole the ball from Marcus Denmon at midcourt, and ran down for the dunk. The basket was good, and Denmon was called for an intentional foul. Harris hit the two free throws, and the Cowboys got the ball back. After a missed jumper by Muonelo, Harris got the rebound and putback to make the score 94-91.
OSU had a chance to take the lead with under a minute to play when Eaton missed a pair of layups under the basket. After he got his second offensive rebound, Eaton thought he'd gotten a foul call on Leo Lyons, but a jump ball was called despite neither team having possession of the ball. The ball went over to Mizzou.
Obi Muonelo led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Terrel Harris and Byron Eaton each chipped in 21 points and James Anderson added 17.
Oklahoma State (12-5, 1-2) returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 24, as the Pokes travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the Nebraska Huskers. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
