Oklahoma State slips past West Virginia, snaps 6-game slide

Field Level Media|published: Sat 27th January, 16:28 2024

Jan 27, 2024; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys center Brandon Garrison (23) puts up a shot against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. credits: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Garrison tied a season high with 20 points to help lead Oklahoma State to a 70-66 victory over visiting West Virginia on Saturday.

Javon Small added 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Cowboys (9-11, 1-6 Big 12), who snapped a six-game losing streak and won their first conference game of the season. John-Michael Wright tallied 10 points off the bench for Oklahoma State.

Kerr Kriisa scored 21 points on 6-for-8 3-point shooting to lead West Virginia (7-13, 2-5). Quinn Slazinski added 18 points off the bench for the Mountaineers, who didn't score a field goal the last three minutes of the game.

After trailing by one point at halftime, Oklahoma State pulled ahead for a 46-41 lead at the 13:14 mark of the second half.

West Virginia followed with a 9-0 scoring run to take a 50-46 advantage with 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

A pair of free throws from Wright knotted the game at 50 before back-to-back Kriisa triples gave the Mountaineers a 56-50 lead with 6:59 left.

Trailing by seven points with 5:11 left, two free throws by Garrison followed by 3-pointers from Wright and Bryce Thompson put the Cowboys on top by one point with 3:26 remaining.

With the score tied at 64 with 1:11 left, West Virginia's Akok Akok made two free throws to give the Mountaineers the lead. Then, Small knocked down a contested 3-pointer, putting the Cowboys ahead by one point with 54 seconds remaining.

Oklahoma State then forced a turnover, leading to two made free throws by Garrison. Akok missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 12 seconds left.

Bryce Thompson split a pair of free throws for the Cowboys, giving them the four-point victory.

In the first half, Small's and-one gave Oklahoma State a seven-point lead with 10:07 left. The Mountaineers then responded with a 13-0 scoring run, punctuated with three free throws from Kriisa, which gave West Virginia a 27-21 lead with 5:28 remaining.

After trailing by six points with 2:30 left, Jarius Hicklen's triple and Garrison's layup cut the Cowboys' halftime deficit to 33-32.

Slazinski's 10 points paced West Virginia in the first half, while Garrison's nine points led Oklahoma State.

- Field Level Media

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