Mar. 21—Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton knew that’d be the final time this season that he’d walk out of Gallagher-Iba Arena. There wasn’t an alternative.

A win over North Texas on Tuesday evening would’ve sent the Cowboys to Las Vegas for the NIT semifinals. A loss would’ve stopped their season right in its tracks, bringing an unwelcome end to the campaign less than two weeks after being the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament.

In the aftermath of the Pokes’ 65-59, overtime loss to the Mean Green, Boynton did exactly as he’s done following every single home game. He made his way through the handshake line and to the venue’s northern baseline, locked arms with those around him and sang the school’s alma mater, and used his next 11 steps to walk off Eddie Sutton court toward a somber locker room.

“Certainly fell below the expectations that I have — and we all have — for the program this year,” Boynton said in his opening statement. “Tonight, in particular, North Texas just played a little bit better. ... They move forward, and our season’s over. So, we move on.”

Stuck in the thick of a 58-58 tie with two minutes to play in overtime, UNT’s Kai Huntsberry couldn’t fight through OSU’s defense for the shot that he wanted. A switch on a ball screen left guard Tylor Perry — the Conference USA Player of the Year and the Mean Green’s leading scorer — searching for a worthwhile look.

But, with the shot clock winding down, he had to take the one that was given.

Perry, who stands at 5-foot-11 and dropped a game-high 23 points, let it fly from nearly 30 feet away over a 6-foot-9 defender in OSU guard Woody Newton.

Bang. “A lot of times, you’re guarding them for the whole shot clock. So, now you just need one quick stop for five seconds, get a rebound and then you’re off to the races,” Cowboys junior guard Bryce Thompson said. “Sometimes, they just go in for ‘em.”

“I’ve seen him make so many crazy shots,” UNT coach Grant McCasland. “He’s just got a gift for putting the ball in the hole. ... He’s elusive enough to get shots off, and he’s lethal when he does.”

The Cowboys (20-16) failed to capitalize in overtime, being outscored 10-4 by the Mean Green (29-7) throughout the final five minutes. They went 0-for-4 after Perry’s dagger, with their only point coming from Newton hitting a free throw.

That wasn’t the only opportunity they squandered, either.

Standing at the free-throw line with two shots in front of him and 20.5 seconds remaining, OSU senior guard Caleb Asberry had a chance to snap a 55-55 tie and put the Cowboys ahead.

Capitalizing on the seismic opportunity by making both — or one, even — would’ve put the Pokes in prime position to advance to the NIT semifinals. It also would’ve erased all of their offensive mishaps up to that point. Being able to survive and advance, of course, would’ve outweighed a 17-point first half that featured the Cowboys going 8 of 26 from the field and 1 of 11 from deep.

But Asberry blanked at the stripe, and fellow senior guard John-Michael Wright missed the second chance after an offensive rebound with 3.7 seconds left to play.

“There’s a reason you want a guy like that at the line because you feel confident he’s gonna make them,” Boynton said of Asberry, who shoots 83.7 percent from the stripe. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in, and there’s not really a whole lot of explanation for it. If we put him out there tomorrow, and we had the same situation, I’m confident he’d make them.”

All of that is behind the Cowboys now, though. And there isn’t another game to get ready for. There isn’t room left to improve and try to do better next time. There’s no turning the page on a story that’s already unexpectedly concluded.

Boynton and Co. will set onward in their quest to return the program to the pinnacle of college basketball. Over the next few weeks, that’ll include tough heart-tohearts about what lies ahead for players with remaining eligibility. And come summer, that’ll include welcoming a top-10 recruiting class to Stillwater.

But after making his way off the court, into a room full of reporters and up to the lectern, none of that was at the forefront of Boynton’s mind. What’s to come didn’t matter right then. Everything that had happened in the five months of basketball leading up to that moment did.

“I’m not here to make excuses,” he said. “We didn’t meet the expectations of the program that I have or that I’m sure our fans have. It’s my job to make sure we get better.”