Justin Gray worked his way to his third double-double of the season with 16 points and equaled a career-best with 11 rebounds, but the Texas Tech men’s basketball team was dealt its third straight loss during an 80-63 setback to Oklahoma State Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Red Raiders (17-12, 5-11 Big 12) were swept by Oklahoma State (20-9, 9-7 Big 12) in the season series for the first time since 2012-13. Texas Tech was playing its fifth game in a 15-day span against the Top 5 teams in the Big 12 standings. The Cowboys have won 10 of their last 11 outings after starting the Big 12 season with a 0-6 league record.

“We basically couldn’t guard them in the first half,” Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard said. “In those regards, you sit there and take it, or you try to give your players a chance to get back in the game. I don’t think there’s a difference in getting beat by 40 or by two. I’m not over there trying to keep it close, we’re over there trying to win. In the second half, we got very aggressive and basically played a defense that tried to take out (Phil) Forte (III) and (Jeffrey) Carroll and try and make other players beat us. Ultimately, we were going to have to make some plays and be better than them to win the game. That just wasn’t the case today. They always have very productive stat sheets. Their four best players did their jobs today, and our team is just hit or miss. If we can ever get it to where our best four or five players produce, then we could be pretty good as well but not today.”

For Gray, he was 8-of-15 from the floor and snatched eight of his 11 rebounds on the defensive end. He has scored 16 points in back-to-back games to match his second-highest scoring output in Big 12 action.

Keenan Evans tacked on a team-leading 18 points coupled with three rebounds, three assists and three steals. He pushed his streak to 17 consecutive games in double figures.

Shadell Millinghaus provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor and contributed Big 12 season-highs with seven points and six rebounds. He saw a majority of his action during the second half. Matthew Temple added five points before he fouled out, while Thomas Brandsma tallied his first career Big 12 points with a trey late in the second half.

The starting frontcourt of Anthony Livingston, Aaron Ross and Zach Smith were held to combined 10 points on 5-for-18 shooting effort and misfired on all six of their three-point attempts.

Texas Tech registered a 24-of-61 shooting clip and connected on 4-of-18 from three-point territory. The Red Raiders were 11-of-15 at the foul line and garnered a 32-22 edge in paint points.

Oklahoma State put forth a 24-for-49 shooting performance and knocked down eight of its 10 three’s during the opening 20 minutes. The Cowboys were a flawless 22-for-22 on their free throw attempts.

Oklahoma State turned in a balanced scoring effort headed by Jeffrey Carroll’s 17 points and six rebounds. The Cowboys also received 15 points apiece courtesy of Jawun Evans and Phil Forte III, and Davon Dillard chipped in 12 points off the bench.

The Red Raiders grabbed an early 7-4 advantage at the 17:03 mark of the first half when Livingston backed his man down for a 10-foot jump hook in the paint.

Oklahoma State fired back with a trio of three-pointers and limited the Red Raiders without a basket for the next 5:07 off the clock. The Cowboys stretched their advantage to double figures at 19-9 with 10:50 remaining on a Forte III three-ball.

Oklahoma State rode eight first half three-pointers and built a 45-27 lead heading into the locker room. Forte III and Carroll combined to amass 27 points and knocked down 9-of-12 from the floor.

The Red Raiders found their rhythm and used an 11-2 spurt half during the first five minutes of the second 20 minutes to slice the deficit in half.

Texas Tech used a traditional three-point play from Evans to kickstart the flurry followed by a Gray and Smith layups on second-chance opportunities. Then, Millinghaus and Gray added runners off drives to bring the score back to 47-38 with 15:33 to go.

The Red Raiders would get as close as six points after they turned defense into offense. A Gray steal turned into Millinghaus to make it 53-47 with 13:07 left.

Oklahoma State would receive back-to-back late shot clock baskets on jumpers from Evans and Brandon Averette to go back ahead by double figures. The Cowboys also picked up their defense and held Texas Tech to three field goals inside the closing 9:07 to finish off the 17-point win.

“Shadell is a competitor,” Beard said. “He’s a lot like Justin with the fact that effort is never going to be a problem. I thought more than anything he just competed. I have a lot of respect for Shadell. It’s been kind of an up and down year. It’s tough because everyone comes to college thinking you’re going to play a lot of minutes. Nobody visualizes you’ll play a different role than you think, and Shadell has had some adversity in terms of not playing as much as he would want and frankly as much as I would want. The bell rings, and he answers the call. I was really proud to be Shadell’s coach today. Simply stated, I really enjoyed watching him compete in the second half.”

Texas Tech wraps up the home portion of its regular season schedule and takes on Texas on Wednesday evening. The Red Raiders will honor the five members of their senior class prior to the game. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPN along with being available on the Watch ESPN app.

Fans can purchase tickets to Wednesday’s game for as low as $15 online at www.TexasTech.com or in person at the United Supermarkets Arena Box Office which opens 90 minutes prior to tipoff.

Texas Tech is offering enhancements for the remainder of the season to better serve its fans. The S1 Parking Lot at the John Walker Soccer Complex will be open for free parking for all fans. Texas Tech also will provide a free shuttle beginning 75 minutes prior to tipoff and 60 minutes following the game to transport fans to and from the United Supermarkets Arena.
 
Fans are reminded to go clear at all Texas Tech basketball games. The clear bag policy provides a safer atmosphere and speeds up the entry process into the United Supermarkets Arena.