LAWRENCE, Kan. — Markel Brown let out a roar. Marcus Smart did a cartwheel and a back flip.
Travis Ford exhaled for seemingly the first time all game.
After establishing a big first-half lead, Oklahoma State watched it all melt away Saturday. But in one of the rare instances of a team refusing to lose at intimidating Allen Fieldhouse, Brown and Smart managed to hold things together down the stretch against second-ranked Kansas.
Together, they helped the Cowboys pull out an 85-80 victory that ended the Jayhawks’ nation-leading 18-game winning streak - and their 33-game streak at Allen Fieldhouse, too.
“We just beat one of the top teams in the country, and a great team at that,” said Smart, who had seven of his 25 points in the closing minutes. “It’s hard for teams to come into their home court and get a victory. We’re one of the few teams that have done it. We couldn’t believe it.”
That may account for his impromptu gymnastics.
“I was so ecstatic about thevictory,” the freshman said, “it just came to me to do it.”
Brown finished with 28 points for the Cowboys (15-5,5-3 Big 12), who hadn’t beaten a top-five team on the road since knocking off the Jayhawks (19-2, 7-1) on Jan. 2, 1958.
In other Big 12 games, Angel Rodriguez hit two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining to give No. 18 Kansas State (17-4, 6-2) a 52-50 victory over host Oklahoma (14-6, 5-3). ... Freshman Eron Harris scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to lead West Virginia (10-11, 3-5) to a 77-61 victory over Texas Tech (9-10, 2-6). ... Will Clyburn had 28 points and 10 rebounds as host Iowa State (15-6, 5-3) beat Baylor (14-7, 5-3), winning 79-71. ... Ioannis Papapetrou scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead host Texas (10-11, 2-6) to a 60-43 victory over TCU (9-12, 0-8).
BIG TEN
Ohio State holds on
LINCOLN, Neb. - Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 21 points and No. 11 Ohio State held off a late Nebraska surge for a 63-56 victory Saturday night.
Ohio State (17-4, 7-2 Big Ten) led 53-38 after a pair of free throws by Aaron Craft with 9:05 left. Nebraska (11-12, 2-8) then outscored the Buckeyes 15-5 and cut the lead to 58-53 on David Rivers’ (Little Rock Hall) free throws with 2:40 remaining.
Ohio State won the game at the free throw line. The Buckeyes made 23 of 28, including all 10 of their first-half attempts. Nebraska was just 4 of 5 from the line.
In another Big Ten game, Reggie Hearn scored a career-high 26 points to lead host Northwestern (13-10, 4-6) to a 75-60 victory over Purdue (11-11, 4-5).
Sports, Pages 29 on 02/03/2013