NCAA News Wire
Texas 87, Oklahoma State 68
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas and Oklahoma State were both missing pieces as they faced off in a mid-week Big 12 game.
Texas’ remaining pieces proved far superior.
Longhorns guard Javan Felix poured in 27 points to propel No. 19 Texas past a Marcus Smart-less Oklahoma State team, 87-68, on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
Felix hit 6 of 8 3-pointers and the Longhorns were 11 of 23 overall from 3-point range as they ran away from Oklahoma State early and never looked back.
Texas (19-5, 8-3 Big12) was missing forward Jonathan Holmes, the Longhorns’ leading scorer at 13.1 points per game.
But Texas’ balanced offense shined through the absence of Holmes, who suffered a knee injury against Kansas State on Saturday. Longhorns guard Isaiah Taylor scored 16 and had five assists, reserve guard Martez Walker had 12 and center Cameron Ridely had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
That helped Texas bounce back from a 17-point loss at Kansas State on Saturday and stay in the hunt for a Big 12 championship, a game back of conference-leading Kansas.
Forward Le’Bryan Nash led Oklahoma State with 23 points, but the Cowboys (16-8, 4-7) still lost their fifth straight and face two more games without Smart.
The Big 12 gave Marcus Smart a three-game suspension after he shoved a fan near the end of the Cowboys’ 65-61 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday.
Smart fouled Texas Tech forward Jaye Crockett on a dunk attempt with 6.2 seconds remaining. After hitting the ground hard, Smart was visibly agitated by something Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr said. Smart went a row into the stands to shove Orr.
Without Smart in the lineup for the first time this season, Oklahoma State struggled to keep up with Texas in the first half.
Felix revved up the Longhorns’ marathon 27-7 run in the first half, hitting jumpers on three consecutive trips down the floor, two of them from beyond the 3-point arc.
Felix’s second 3-pointer in the surge gave Texas a 36-14 lead.
Texas effectively buried the Cowboys from long distance in the first 20 minutes, sinking eight 3-pointers.
Felix, who scored 16 first-half point, made 4 of 6 3-pointers before the break. Texas forward Connor Lammert hit three of five, and Walker added another on his only attempt of the first half.
Texas shot 49 percent in the first half to Oklahoma State’s 32 percent, boosting the Longhorns to a 54-33 halftime lead.
NOTES: Oklahoma State G Marcus Smart, who sat out the first game of his three-game suspension, dominated the teams’ first meeting this season, posting 24 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists. The Cowboys won 87-74 in Stillwater, Okla. … Before Tuesday, Oklahoma State won each of its previous four meetings with the Longhorns. … Oklahoma State’s four-game overall losing streak entering Tuesday was its longest since the 2010-11 season. The Cowboys last lost five or more when they endured a six-game losing streak during the 2007-08 season. … Texas freshman G Isaiah Taylor came into the contest averaging 19.5 points per game. He made 27 of 29 free throws in the Longhorns’ previous four contests.
