Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
No. 18 Oklahoma State
Red Raiders Tripped Up By No. 18 OSU
January 31, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan 31, 2004
By JOEL ANDERSON
AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Tony Allen scored 20 points and John Lucas hit four free throws in the final 12 seconds to lead No. 18 Oklahoma State to a 70-66 win over No. 13 Texas Tech in a foul-plagued game Saturday night.
Oklahoma State (15-2, 5-1 Big 12) is now on a five-game winning streak, putting the Cowboys into a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Kansas and Texas.
Allen put in his usual steady offensive performance, but it was his second-half defense on Andre Emmett, the Big 12's leading scorer at 21.5 points a game, that clinched the win.
Emmett finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, but didn't score a basket in the final 16 minutes and couldn't even free himself to get the ball down the stretch.
Emmett had averaged 28.2 points against Oklahoma State in the previous six games, including 32 in Tech's 83-62 win three weeks ago.
Jarrius Jackson led the Red Raiders with 22 points.
Texas Tech (16-3, 4-1) has now lost two straight after having its 12-game winning streak snapped by Texas in a 62-61 loss in Lubbock on Monday.
This one may hurt just as much.
The game got bogged down in the game's final few minutes as the teams traded foul shots on nearly every possession. Thirty fouls were called in the second half, including seven on seven straight possessions.
Boos and whistles filled the air, frustrating the frenzied crowd of 13,611 at Gallagher-Iba Arena and turning the game into a free throw shooting contest.
Allen did most of his damage from the foul line, where he went 12-for-14.
Lucas had 15 points for Oklahoma State, and Joey Graham had 13.
The emotions of the close game bubbled over with 8:39 left when a fan threw a water bottle on the floor after Graham was called for an offensive foul.
The officials waved off what could have been a technical foul, but Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton still grabbed the public announcer's microphone and told the crowd to stop throwing things on the court.
Several security guards gathered around the area where the bottle was tossed, but the culprit was never identified.
It was tough to tell whether the first half was dominated by tenacious defense or tentative offense.
There were two three-minute stretches where both teams went scoreless, with Oklahoma State finally emerging from the drought by going on an 11-4 run before halftime for a 34-27 lead.
