TicketsSTILLWATER, Okla. — Cincinnati turned an 18-point deficit into a one-point game with 4:06 left, but Oklahoma State finished on a 12-2 run to close out a 78-67 defeat on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats, like last year against West Virginia, will face this same team again Tuesday in the Big 12 Championships opener (12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+).
Jizzle James led three Bearcats in double-figures with 17 points. Dan Skillings Jr. had 15 to go with four assists, two steals and a block. Day Day Thomas scored 12 points.
The run began after Simas Lukosius connected from deep for his first field goal of the day. The next 10 points included the Cowboys going 6-for-6 at the foul line over the final 1:15 while leading by five, then a basket by one of its walk-ons on the final possession.
OSU took its largest lead at 40-22 with 4:07 left, but Cincinnati closed on a 14-4 run to head into the locker room down eight.
Seven of eight Bearcats to enter the floor scored by the 11:39 mark.
Rayvon Griffith's first offensive possession saw him feed Aziz Bandaogo for a dunk at 13:10, and after an OSU miss down low, James drove for a layup and 56-51 deficit, UC's smallest since 9:17 of the first.
Josh Reed's defensive rebound and outlet pass to a wide-open Skillings for a left-handed slam instilled some more life at 9:44, but the Cowboys responded with a shot in the post.
Reed's interception in the paint led to Thomas finding Dillon Mitchell for an alley-oop, cutting the margin to 64-58 at 7:01. Another pick by Skillings, this time on an in-bounds pass following a timeout, led to a transition layup and foul on Reed. Despite the free-throw miss, the rebound went out-of-bounds to UC, and Thomas hit a baseline jumper to bring it to 64-62 at 6:22.
Oklahoma State went 7-for-9 from deep and only took two attempts after 11:36 in the second.
FROM WES MILLER
"Credit to Oklahoma State. The way they played tonight, I thought in the first half they hurt us over the top in transition, in the post and off the bounce. You look down and see you gave up seven 3-pointers, and it felt like they scored in every way. I wasn't pleased with our play in the last 12 minutes of the first half. We made a nice run at the end of the half to make it manageable, and our guys did a nice job at fighting and competing in the second half. We got some good looks, but couldn't convert to get back in the game."
The Bearcats, like last year against West Virginia, will face this same team again Tuesday in the Big 12 Championships opener (12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+).
Jizzle James led three Bearcats in double-figures with 17 points. Dan Skillings Jr. had 15 to go with four assists, two steals and a block. Day Day Thomas scored 12 points.
The run began after Simas Lukosius connected from deep for his first field goal of the day. The next 10 points included the Cowboys going 6-for-6 at the foul line over the final 1:15 while leading by five, then a basket by one of its walk-ons on the final possession.
OSU took its largest lead at 40-22 with 4:07 left, but Cincinnati closed on a 14-4 run to head into the locker room down eight.
Seven of eight Bearcats to enter the floor scored by the 11:39 mark.
Rayvon Griffith's first offensive possession saw him feed Aziz Bandaogo for a dunk at 13:10, and after an OSU miss down low, James drove for a layup and 56-51 deficit, UC's smallest since 9:17 of the first.
Josh Reed's defensive rebound and outlet pass to a wide-open Skillings for a left-handed slam instilled some more life at 9:44, but the Cowboys responded with a shot in the post.
Reed's interception in the paint led to Thomas finding Dillon Mitchell for an alley-oop, cutting the margin to 64-58 at 7:01. Another pick by Skillings, this time on an in-bounds pass following a timeout, led to a transition layup and foul on Reed. Despite the free-throw miss, the rebound went out-of-bounds to UC, and Thomas hit a baseline jumper to bring it to 64-62 at 6:22.
Oklahoma State went 7-for-9 from deep and only took two attempts after 11:36 in the second.
FROM WES MILLER
"Credit to Oklahoma State. The way they played tonight, I thought in the first half they hurt us over the top in transition, in the post and off the bounce. You look down and see you gave up seven 3-pointers, and it felt like they scored in every way. I wasn't pleased with our play in the last 12 minutes of the first half. We made a nice run at the end of the half to make it manageable, and our guys did a nice job at fighting and competing in the second half. We got some good looks, but couldn't convert to get back in the game."