Jan. 7—Caleb Asberry had just given Oklahoma State men’s basketball its second lead of the game against No. 6 Texas, sending the fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena into an absolute frenzy.

A redshirt-senior guard from Pflugerville, Texas, Asberry drained a 3-pointer to eradicate a deficit the Cowboys spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to erase. After blowing double-digit leads in both of their first Big 12 games of the season, the Cowboys were primed to nab a come-from-behind victory of their own.

And then OSU missed its last eight shots — and 10 of its final 12 — over the final eight minutes in an offensive drought that helped the Longhorns escape Stillwater with a 56-46 win.

“I think, with a little bit better offensive execution, we can put ourselves in maybe closer to a one-possession game,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said. “We’re getting close, but close isn’t good enough in this league. You gotta get the job done, and we didn’t today.”

As quickly as the Cowboys (9-6, 1-2 Big 12) took the lead, the Longhorns (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) took it right back. Asberry’s triple helped OSU hold a 44-43 lead for all of seven seconds in a game that OSU led for, in total, 56 seconds.

That’s how long it took for Texas senior forward Timmy Allen to get fouled on his way to the basket, missing a layup before tying the game by making one of his two free throws.

The Cowboys’ only points after that were provided by junior Woody Newton and senior Avery Anderson III on two separate trips to the free-throw line.

“It’s really tough because you work so hard to get to that point. And just not being able to come out with the win, it sucks,” Cowboys senior guard John-Michael Wright said. “But you’ve just gotta take it to the chin and realize what we did wrong.”

That final stretch of offense, or lack thereof, was a microcosm of the Cowboys’ worst offensive output since a 47-point performance during a loss to West Virginia in February 2020. And it wasn’t the only one, either.

OSU had multiple scoreless streaks throughout the contest. Usually having a couple of lulls each game, Boynton has coached his team to play through it. The Cowboys weren’t just periodically stagnant this time, though.

The Pokes couldn’t do much against Texas’ defense, which entered the matchup following a loss to Kansas State on Tuesday in which the Longhorns allowed the Wildcats to score 116 points.

The Cowboys shot 30 percent from the field, including 29 percent from beyond the arc. They were 57 percent from the free-throw line. They tallied 18 turnovers, matching the most they’ve had in a game this season.

“Disappointed in our offensive output. Certainly don’t wanna take anything away from Texas. Obviously, they played highly motivated, defensively,” Boynton said. “It’s a response league. They responded, based off their past performance, better than we did. We just gotta get back to the drawing board and figure out how to play more consistently well on the offensive end.”

The Cowboys’ offensive struggles were in part because Texas was hellbent on avenging its porous defense from four days prior. They were also in part due to OSU star center Moussa Cisse missing his first game of the season with an ankle injury that he sustained during a win over West Virginia on Monday.

Cisse’s 7-foot-1 post presence demands attention, softening opposing teams’ perimeter defense. His absence was evident against the Longhorns, allowing them to focus on making Wright, Anderson and Bryce Thompson nonfactors.

Those three entered Saturday as OSU’s top three scorers, combining to average 34.1 points per game. Against Texas, they combined for 17 while shooting 5 of 23.

The Cowboys did have one bright spot on offense. Kalib Boone, who usually starts at the four but played in place of Cisse at the five, posted his first double-double since January 2021 with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Still, of course, it wasn’t enough.

“Looks like the result is we need him,” Boynton said. “The result says we need Moussa.”

The offensive miscues come with their own set of frustrations. But those coming on the backend of another defensive clinic make things sting that much more.

Texas hadn’t scored less than 70 points in a game prior to Saturday. The Longhorns were less than a week removed from amassing the century mark in their aforementioned loss to Kansas State.

Without Cisse, the Cowboys had 12 blocks — Boone accounting for six of them — while their defense held the Longhorns in check. Texas entered the contest with four scorers averaging double figures. The Longhorns only had two against OSU, with guard Tyrese Hunter, who averages 12 points a game, being held to 5 on 1-for-8 shooting.

Texas’ leading scorer, Marcus Carr, had a team-high 12 points.

“To hold them under 60, when they scored 60 in their last half of basketball coming in, you feel like you should give yourself a much better chance to win today’s game,” Boynton said. “Some- Con't(from(Page(6

times you give the other team credit for being better than you were. K-State was better than Texas on Tuesday. Texas was better than Oklahoma State.”

The Cowboys won’t have long before they start a two-game road trip. They’ll face another ranked opponent when traveling to play No. 19 Baylor next Saturday. But first, OSU will head to Manhattan, Kansas, for its first matchup of the season with Kansas State.

The Wildcats have taken the Big 12 by storm under firstyear coach Jerome Tang, beating then-No. 24 West Virginia in their conference opener before following that up with the high-scoring win over Texas.

Boynton won’t spend the time between Saturday and the beginning of his team’s road trip reminiscing on what could’ve been against the Longhorns. It doesn’t matter that the Cowboys were in a position to win. They didn’t, and that’s what sticks with Boynton.

“I don’t play this thing to come close. With all due respect to Texas — and they’re really talented — I expect to win,” Boynton said. “This is what you work for. So, the whole ‘we came close, good team’ excuse part — lost on me. We compete to win. We just didn’t get the job done today.”