By james art 
The Cowboys almost made it all the way to Lubbock.
On Sunday, Oklahoma State lost 64-54 against Texas Tech on the road at United Supermarkets Arena. OSU cut its 18-point deficit to just three, but couldn’t make enough plays in the final minutes to escape with a victory.
OSU’s deficit was big in the final quarter of its game at Texas Tech, but that didn’t stop the Cowboys from fighting. After falling by as many as 18, Bryce Thompson gave the Cowboys what they desperately needed with six straight points to get into the deficit. From there, Arturo Dean began to take over.
Dean scored seven straight of his own, including one to get the Cowboys within two possessions. OSU continued to fight back, getting another transition bucket from Dean a few possessions later to make it a three-point game with just over five minutes left. The biggest key to OSU’s run was its defense, holding Texas Tech to one point and no field goals in nearly seven minutes after stretching the deficit to 18.
Despite having a rough first half, the Cowboys had an opportunity to turn the tide in their favor at halftime. Although the first few possessions were pretty sloppy, OSU hadn’t let up in the first three minutes and converted. However, already trailing by 10, OSU’s margin for error was too small to allow any runs, but Texas Tech would soon make its run in an attempt to gain full control.
The Cowboys’ first half was brutal offensively. While the Cowboys have been no strangers to rough halves running the ball, they typically haven’t entered the half with more turnovers than field goals.
In the first 20 minutes, Texas Tech’s defense was swarming against OSU and forced 11 turnovers. Still, the Cowboys managed to shoot 10-for-20 from the field and managed to get some decent looks when they did.
Although OSU struggled offensively, its defense helped keep the game close at the halftime break. OSU allowed 37 points to Texas Tech, but still forced six turnovers and kept the Red Raiders completely out of foul trouble.
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