The Texas Tech men’s basketball team was dealt a 19-point deficit in the game’s opening 12 minutes as Oklahoma State picked up an 83-64 victory on Saturday at the United Supermarkets Arena.
 
The Red Raiders (14-5, 3-4 Big 12) entered Saturday’s game with a 17-game home winning streak and were unable to piece together back-to-back Big 12 wins for the first time this season. Oklahoma State (11-8, 1-6 Big 12) ended its six-game losing streak, and earned the 100th career win for its first-year head coach Brad Underwood.
 
“Congrats to Oklahoma State,” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. “They played a great game. I could talk about the things we did well, but you’ve got to give credit to a good team with a good coach that came in focused. I’ve said it a million times this week that they are not a 0-6 team. That’s a team that beat Wichita State by 20. It’s a team that has an NBA player, two more all-conference players and [Phil] Forte, who is a player that I’ve never respected anyone else that’s played in this team more than him. So, just hats off to them. I thought they played the game well. They obviously made shots, but it was more than making shots. They beat us in every facet of the game today. We have a long ways to go, but hats off to Oklahoma State.”
 
Keenan Evans delivered a team-leading 15 points and added three assists. He extended his streak to a career-best eight straight games in double figures.
 
Zach Smith and Devon Thomas chipped in 11 points. For Smith, he has garnered 10-plus points in six consecutive games, while Thomas has pieced together double figures in two of his last three outings.
 
Anthony Livingston connected on a trio of three-pointers en route to nine points. Justin Gray collected seven points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Shadell Millinghaus and Niem Stevenson accounted for nine of the team’s 11 points.
 
Texas Tech was 20-of-45 from the floor, 7-of-21 from three-point territory and 17-of-25 at the free throw line. The Red Raiders lone statistical advantage came in paint points where Texas Tech held a slight 20-18 edge.  
 
Oklahoma State was effective and efficient and dialed up a 22-for-40 shooting clip. The Cowboys also sank 11-for-16 on treys and 28-for-37 in free throws. OSU amassed a 31-18 rebounding advance and tallied 20 of the game’s 27 points on second chance opportunities.  
 
Jeffrey Carroll scorched the nets for a game-high 25 points and tacked on nine rebounds. Phil Forte III notched 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. Texas Tech has allowed multiple 20-point scorers in two of its last three games.
 
After a pair of five-point runs by each team to start the contest, Oklahoma State stepped on the gas behind 22-3 spurt over the next 5:16 off the clock. The Cowboys buried four triples and four layups to fuel the run. Carroll and Forte III accounted for 13 of the 22 points.
 
Oklahoma State led by as many as 21 points during the first half before the Red Raiders totaled six of the last seven points to close the halftime deficit to 46-30.
 
Texas Tech worked its way back to single digits at 66-57 with 8:54 remaining. The Red Raiders buried a trio of three-pointers, two by Evans, to slice into the Oklahoma State advantage. Smith and Thomas also provided and-one layups to spark Texas Tech.
 
The Cowboys had the final response with a seven-point flurry to extend their lead back to 16 points at 73-57 with 3:16 to go. Carroll knocked down his fourth three-ball as a key sequence. Oklahoma State was flawless on its eight free throw attempts over the final 2:54 to wrap up the 19-point win.  
 
“Let me be clear, I have a lot of confidence in our players,” Beard said. “We just got outplayed by a good team. It’s not time to panic, but I have a lot of confidence in our players. I feel responsible for them, and I’m trying to get them to go to that next level. We’ve got a lot of guys that 3-3 is like let’s make a t-shirt. I don’t think I’ve ever been 3-3 as a head coach, so it’s just try to get to the next level. With that, tonight, I’ve got to make sure that the pressure doesn’t shift, or it starts becoming too tense. There’s a fine line as a coach. You give your guys confidence. You keep it loose, but at the same time you have to understand what’s ahead, of you. Ultimately though, we’ve got these seniors. That’s a hurt locker room right now. That’s a mature locker room right now. There’s not a lot of finger pointing. It’s a bunch of grown men saying ‘Hey, we’ve got to get back to work,’ and I agree … To me, it really wasn’t the winning or losing tonight. It was the fact that we got out-competed on out home floor. That’s just not going to be acceptable.”
 
Texas Tech hits the road and turns its attention to No. 6 Baylor on Wednesday. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNEWS along with the Watch ESPN app.