FAYETTEVILLE — For the third straight Saturday and fourth straight SEC weekend home game, an Arkansas foe left the building shaking its head about a loss.
Oklahoma State led by 12 shortly after intermission before a Razorback rally downed the Cowboys 66-65 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge before 18,057 fans at Bud Walton Arena.
Freshman center Daniel Gafford’s tip-in with 16.2 seconds proved to be the game-winning points when Oklahoma State missed two baskets inside the final nine seconds left and Arkansas senior center Trey Thompson grabbed a rebound to secure the win.
“I thought it was a great college basketball game,” Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton said. “Obviously, Arkansas probably feels a little bit better about it than I did.
“They have got a really good team and one of the best venues in college basketball for sure and they had it rolling today. Credit to (Arkansas head) Coach (Mike) Anderson and his staff for having his guys in position to claw back and find a way to win.”
The win - coupled with Kentucky’s win at West Virginia on Saturday night - gave the SEC a 6-4 advantage and the league’s first victory in five years in the Challenge after tying 5-5 last season.
“I’m obviously disappointed in the result for our team, but really proud of the way our guys responded against a little bit more adversity,” Boynton said. “We have had enough already this year. Disappointed in the result, but looking forward to getting better once we get back into Big 12 play.”
Dustin Thomas blocked Jeffrey Carroll’s jumper with nine seconds left and Mitchell Solomon’s rebound try in close two seconds later somehow did not go in and allowed Arkansas (15-6) to escape.
“We had some good looks there, even up to the last possession when we get two layups,” Boynton said. “You have got to make them. At the end of the day, I don’t really have any excuse for them. We have got to make those plays.”
Oklahoma State (13-8), which knocked off arch rival and No. 12 Oklahoma at home last Saturday, believed it was still going to be able to pull out the game late.
“Coach drew up a play for us to get to the basket,” noted Brandon Averette, who had 10 points on Saturday. “We got a good look and it just didn't fall for us.”
Oklahoma State, which hammered Arkansas 97-71 in Stillwater, Okla., last season, was without two of its top three scorers - guards Tavarius Shine and Kendall Smith.
“It is not ideal, but anybody knows me or has talked to me before knows I am not an excuse maker,” Boynton said. “I knew what the deal was going in. It’s obviously unfortunate and we hope to get Kendall healthy so he can help us, but we didn’t have him today. We put ourselves in position to win the game. We just didn’t finish the right way.
“I think we handled it well, we just didn’t make enough plays. That is what it came down to. It wasn’t about having another player, we just didn’t make enough plays in this game with the guys we had.”
The win ended a five-game losing streak for Arkansas in the series, which the Cowboys now lead 35-15 overall and the Razorbacks lead 10-8 in games in Fayetteville.
It was a game attended by former Arkansas and Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton and former Razorback national championship coach Nolan Richardson.
The Cowboys took a 46-34 lead on Solomon’s bucket with 18:20 left before the Razorback press begin forcing turnovers.
Oklahoma State would commit nine of its 17 turnovers and go just 2-of-18 from the field from that point on.
Arlando Cook’s rebound basket capped a 16-3 run and gave Arkansas a 50-49 lead with 10:50 left.
Mitchell’s two free throws gave the visitors a 65-64 edge with 22 seconds left, but Gafford’s tip-in of a Beard miss less than six seconds later ended up being the last points of the game.
“We had several key turnovers and they cripple you, especially against a team like this that thrives in transition,” Boynton said. “Certainly in this building, it gets the crowd into it. I don’t think we ran bad offense, but the results weren’t there and it’s hard to say that.
“I am going to go back on film and I think I am going to see that we got good looks, but they didn’t go down. We turned it over in situations that we shouldn’t have. I do think the turnovers were the biggest factor there and obviously they did a really good job on the offensive glass. That was a major factor as well, including the game-winning shot.”
The two teams' leading scorers - Arkansas’ Jaylen Barford (6 points) and Oklahoma State’s Carroll (8 points) both had off games.
Barford - along with Anton Beard (six assists, no turnovers) were both 2-of-11 from the field while Carroll was 2-of-10.
Arkansas survived in large part because of its bench play with senior guard Daryl Macon’s game-high 22 points, Thomas’ 9 points and 10 rebounds and Thompson’s 7 points and 6 boards all coming in reserve roles.
The Razorbacks outscored the Cowboys’ bench 48-15, but Boynton balked at calling Macon a bench player.
“He is a starter,” Boynton said. “Coaches don’t get into that as much. He is a really player. He plays starter minutes, whether he comes in off the bench or starts, he is going to play about the same and have the same opportunities so I don’t know if, maybe for their team psychologically it helps, but it doesn’t change for us in terms of preparation. It doesn’t really make a difference.”
Losing the 12-point lead was something Boynton, who played at South Carolina, was obviously miffed about.
“That is part of the game,” Boynton said. “It was a really physical game, which we expected, but we didn’t handle it as well leading to a few turnovers, but they are a really good team and have always been really good defensively - all of Coach Anderson’s teams.
“I actually had the opportunity to play against some of the teams in this building and remember it vividly. It’s hard out there for player. So, they’re good and their an NCAA Tournament team who will have a lot of success when they get back into SEC play.”
Arkansas is now 10-1 in its last 11 games that have been decided by one possession.
“They have really good players,” Boyton saud. “They have guys that aren’t afraid of the moment. They’ve been in these situations before. I think eight of these guys were on the team last year when we played against them, so we know what those kids are about.
“They have a toughness about them and they’re really, really well coached. Winning close games are a sign of a really well coached team."
He likes playing in the event and has now been in both leagues having been a player and an assistant at South Carolina.
“I think they’re two really good leagues,” Boynton said. “I think that’s why the challenge is good as it is and it’s highly anticipated, probably because of the time of the year, you don’t usually have this inter-league type thing. There are really good teams in both leagues.
“Having coached in both, having played in the SEC, I have a lot of great respect for all of the coaches and programs in the SEC. I certainly think it’s not like we’re going to get it easy when we go back in Big 12 play on Tuesday.”