STILLWATER, Okla. — No. 19 BYU fought back from a halftime deficit but was unable to close the gap on a hot-shooting Oklahoma State squad in a 93-83 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Fousseyni Traore was one of four BYU players to score in double figures as the junior finished with a team-high 17 points, going 7-of-10 from the floor. Trevin Knell led all Cougar starters with 16 while Jaxson Robinson and Dallin Hall finished with 14 and 12, respectively.
The Cowboys were blistering from beyond the arc with 11 3-pointers on 22 attempts to the Cougars’ 8-of-35. Oklahoma State finished the day shooting 60 percent from the field to BYU’s 44 percent. Despite allowing no points on just two second-half turnovers, the Cougars gave up 11 points on six giveaways in the first half.
BYU outrebounded the Cowboys 36-30 including 18-6 on the offensive glass and scored 21 second-chance points to the host’s five. The Cougars also controlled points in the paint (38-36), fastbreak (20-12) and off the bench (39-8).
First Half
OSU banged a trio of quick 3-pointers to put BYU on its heels early. Five points from Spencer Johnson along with buckets from Hall, Knell and Aly Khalifa kept the Cougars on pace to start until the Cowboys swung momentum with a 15-3 run midway through the half. The OSU swing was aided by four BYU turnovers and just one 3-pointer in the Cougars’ first five attempts.
BYU came back within single digits after floaters from Knell and Richie Saunders but the Cowboys responded with a 6-0 run to take a 35-20 lead. Robinson came off the bench and jumpstarted a 9-0 run the Cougars’ way with a jumper, fastbreak lay-in and transition dish to Knell for a bucket. Noah Waterman capped the BYU run with a steal on one end and 3-pointer on the other. The Cougars were then within six at 35-29.
Robinson buried five-consecutive free throws in the half’s waning moments but an 8-0 OSU run sent BYU to the locker room down 49-34.
The Cougars’ halftime deficit was their largest of the season and resulted from eight Cowboy 3-pointers to just 2-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc for BYU. Turnover trouble didn’t help the Cougars’ case either as six giveaways turned into 11 OSU points. Robinson led BYU at the break with nine points on 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Second Half
BYU’s shooting woes lingered into the early minutes of the second half with an 0-of-4 start from the field. The Cougars climbed back to within 11 after trailing by 18 with a pair of 3-pointers from Knell and the offensive reemergence of Traore. The junior forward knocked down three free throws, scored twice with his back to the basket and once in transition as BYU drew to a 66-55 deficit with 10 minutes to play.
Three-pointers from Hall and Robinson along with three more Traore buckets kept the Cougars within 11 down the stretch but OSU answered each BYU run with scores of its own. With two minutes remaining, the Cougars had come within nine after lay-ins from Knell and Saunders as well as a trap, steal and score from Robinson.
BYU was unable to come closer as OSU maintained its lead and the win with free throws and trap-breaking transition scores in the game’s final moments.
BYU returns home for a matchup with No. 12 Baylor on Tuesday at 7 p.m. MST. Watch the Cougars and Bears face-off from the Marriott Center on ESPN or listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143, BYURadio.org/BYURadio app or KSL 102.7FM/1160 AM.