David Punch scored a go-ahead layup with eight seconds left and then knocked in a free throw in the final second to complete a late rally by TCU for a 68-65 victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
Punch finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Horned Frogs (12-7, 2-4 Big 12), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Xavier Edmonds also posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Liutauras Lelevicius added 10 points.
Oklahoma State (14-5, 2-4) endured a game-ending scoring drought of more than four minutes to lose its third game in the last four. Isaiah Coleman scored a team-high 14 points while Anthony Roy, the team’s leading scorer, finished with 13.
The Cowboys were in the driver’s seat late, taking a 65-58 lead on a layup by Andrija Vukovic with 4:13 left. But they didn’t score after that.
The Frogs battled back, tying the game on a 3 by Lelevicius with 1:10 left. Kanye Clary missed a jumper on Oklahoma State’s possession, setting up the go-ahead layup by Punch to push TCU in front 67-65.
Coming out of a timeout, Oklahoma State’s Vyctorious Miller put up a contested 3 that airballed, and then Coleman couldn’t convert a putback attempt.
Punch made the front end of a one-and-one to put TCU in front 68-65 with 0.8 seconds left.
TCU has now won the last eight meetings against Oklahoma State in Fort Worth, including a 73-72 thriller last season.
It was a tight battle in the first half. TCU got off to a fast start, leading 9-0 three minutes in. Oklahoma State battled back with a 10-0 run that featured back-to-back 3s by Roy and a dunk by Christian Coleman for a 32-29 lead at the 6:10 mark.
The Cowboys went on to take a 41-37 lead into the locker rooms.
