Iowa State Suffers Tough Loss at Oklahoma State, 69-67.
By Ross
The streak continues. Iowa State still hasn’t won a basketball game in Stillwater since 1988. On Oklahoma State’s last possession, Le’Bryan Nash hit a fadeaway shot with 4.7 seconds left to take the lead. The Cyclones had their chance, Chris Allen took it coast-to-coast but was blocked on his fadeaway layup by Le’Bryan Nash to end the game. Iowa State may now be back on the bubble.
Iowa State got out to a 9-1 early, but that quickly disappeared as the Pokes went on a 19-4 run. The Cyclones fought back and took a 32-31 lead with them into halftime. The game was back and forth for the second half, but Oklahoma State got a lead with around seven minutes left that they never let go of.
The player many fans were worried about, Keiton Page, was tamed by the Cyclones (only 13). However, Le’Bryan Nash and Markel Brown were too much to handle. Nash ended the night with 18 points and 6 rebounds while Brown led OSU with 19 points. The crowd in Stillwater couldn’t have been a third full, but Nash and Brown kept the crowd involved with some spectacular dunks.
The Cowboys could have really taken Iowa State out of the game, but Chris Allen kept shooting the Clones back into the game. Allen ended with 22 points and was on fire from 3-point land, making 6 of 9. He may have not have played as well as fans were expecting so far this year, but Allen had a great game tonight. Along with the points, he showed leadership by encouraging Royce White at the free throw line late in the game. Hopefully Allen can keep it rolling into Saturday against A&M.
Royce White had another solid game and was on pace for another triple-double at halftime. He scored 15 points, had 12 boards, and 7 assists. Besides that, no other Cyclone was in double-digits.
I don’t often complain about officials (usually defending them), but there were some iffy calls tonight. The most notable was in the first half, when Tyrus McGee was called for a technical foul. McGee blocked a shot and laid it in while being fouled. After the shot, McGee got “T’d up” for celebrating by pumping his fist. It was definitely a weak and bizarre call. Another bad call was on a dunk by Markel Brown. Markel Brown in the air barely touched Royce White (the touch had no effect on the play whatsoever), but White was called for a foul. Like I said, I’m usually not hard on the zebras put tonight wasn’t the best called game.
Cyclone fans, don’t panic. Remember, Oklahoma State was the favorite in this game. Iowa State is still fourth in the Big 12 and there is still plenty of basketball to be played. Although Iowa State is still in good shape for the NCAA Tournament, the Cyclones can’t lose to A&M at home.
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