Oklahoma State basketball vs. UCF: Three takeaways from Cowboys' loss to Knights

STILLWATER — Mike Boynton stepped a couple feet onto the white maple of Eddie Sutton Court with both hands in the air, palms up.

A classic “are you kidding me?” pose.

Oklahoma State’s Jamyron Keller had just picked himself up off the floor from contact as he missed a layup with no whistle. Boos flooded down from the Gallagher-Iba Arena crowd after what felt like a string of calls and non-calls that had gone against Boynton’s Cowboy squad.

Officiating aside, the Cowboys (12-16, 4-11 Big 12) couldn’t make enough shots to fight back against Central Florida (15-12, 6-9), which held on for a 77-71 win Wednesday night.

While the officiating of the final minutes provided some frustration, the second-half rebounding totals were more disturbing. UCF outrebounded the Pokes 25-10 in the second half, one of the most important boards coming from Marchelus Avery off his teammate’s missed free throw with 35 seconds left.

OSU trailed by four and could’ve cut it to a one-score game. Instead, Darius Johnson hit two free throws — for his team-best 17 points — to put the Knights up 73-67.

Boynton said his team is “gonna have to fight a little bit harder” to finish strong, with three games plus the Big 12 Tournament left.

“I don’t know if it was a lack of fight,” Boynton said of Wednesday’s performance. “I think there could’ve been more fight. I feel like we could’ve maybe tried to match their physicality. Foul trouble plays a part of just how aggressive and physical they wanna be.

“I thought the game was real physical, and obviously (UCF was) able to be more successful in that style of game than we were.”

Here are three takeaways from Cowboys’ loss:

Javon Small’s big absence

OSU point guard Javon Small got called for a technical foul with 6:35 left in the first half when he appeared to step in between his teammates and some UCF players after strong contact between both sides. The foul was Small’s third of the game, and Boynton immediately brought him to the bench.

That left OSU’s best ball-handler on the bench for the rest of the first half and the start of the second. OSU led by eight when Small left the game, and trailed by one when he finally returned a few minutes into the second half.

“He just really had started playing really aggressively,” Boynton said. “It changes a lot, because obviously, he’s our most impactful playmaker and most experienced guy in that regard. And a guy who we play better when he’s playing well.”

Small scored 13, including a personal 7-0 run that got OSU within a point with less than five minutes to go. He also had five rebounds and two assists. But the most significant damage was done when he was on the sideline.

Boynton said he did not get much explanation as to what Small did to warrant the technical foul.

“I’ll have to go back and look to see exactly what happened and why the technical was called,” Boynton said. “It didn’t seem like there was enough there, from where I was standing. But that certainly changed the way we were able to start the second half.”

John-Michael Wright’s fast start

Sharpshooter John-Michael Wright matched his season high for 3-pointers in a game less than six minutes into Wednesday night’s action.

The super-senior hit four of his first six 3s — getting fouled on one to give him 13 points as the Cowboys took a 16-11 lead at the 14:12 mark of the first half.

Wright cooled from there, but added another 3 on his way to a season-best 22 points.

Eric Dailey Jr. had 13 of his 15 in the first half, getting himself into double-figures for the second straight game.

But again, Small’s absence seemed to alter how UCF defended the Cowboys — and in particular, Wright.

“They started not to really help off me,” Wright said of UCF’s defensive adjustment to keep a player in his face. “They did a really good job just denying me.”

The Cowboys led by as many as 12 in the first half with the help of a quick 8-0 run, only to see UCF answer with a 14-4 run of its own to get within a bucket. OSU led 42-38 at the half, but UCF kept momentum after the break.

The Knights built a lead to eight on a couple of occasions in the middle of the second half, and that turned out to be enough cushion for the win.

Foul-a-thon

Foul-a-thon

In all, 54 fouls were called in the game, with 28 against OSU, which lost Brandon Garrison, Dailey and Small to fouls in the final minute as it tried to finish off the rally. Sixty-six free throws were shot, with OSU going 24-of-30.

It was a physical game, and for much of the night, a tightly called one, which was a strong deviation from the style of play in the Cowboys’ Bedlam loss last Saturday.

“I looked up at one point and each team had their players full of four, three, five fouls,” Dailey said. “When the game’s being called like that, there’s only so much you can control.”

Yet Boynton came back to UCF’s ability to meld to the style of the game and his team’s 12-of-17 showing at the free throw line in the second half.

“Every game takes on a mind of its own,” he said. “As players and coaches, our job is to adjust to how the game is being played, how it’s being officiated. Also gotta make your free throws when you get there. We didn’t do a very good job of that in the second half.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Cowboys fall short against UCF in Big 12 basketball