No. 10 Gonzaga edges Oklahoma State 69-68

BY MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
1/01/13 at 8:01 AM

Related Story: OSU Basketball Notebook: Glaring weakness

STILLWATER - Marcus Smart ranked among the leading free-throw shooters in the Big 12 Conference, but the Oklahoma State freshman missed twice when it counted most Monday night.

He missed two from the line that would have tied the game with 8.7 seconds left, and 10th-ranked Gonzaga escaped with a 69-68 triumph over the No. 22 Cowboys in a glittering nonconference matchup in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

"So far I've been shooting from the free-throw line very well," said Smart, who was shooting 82.8 percent from the line, fourth in the conference.

"In my mind, I went up there (and) I was confident, but sometimes it just doesn't go the way you want it. And that's what kind of happened tonight. I really don't know what to say," he said.

It was hard to blame the former McDonald's All-American, who battled Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos on even terms in a matchup of premier point guards.

Smart also had six assists, one steal, four rebounds and four turnovers in 36 minutes before the first sellout home crowd of the year and a national television audience.

"He made a lot of plays just to get us to that point," OSU coach Travis Ford said. "(The misses) didn't cost us the game by no stretch of the imagination. When you're a player of his caliber, you're gonna find yourself in that position. Sometimes, it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. I told him it needs to be out of his mind. That's part of game. He'll get 'em next time."

Ford could afford to be magnanimous because of how well the Cowboys played against the highest-ranked nonconference foe to visit Stillwater in 32 years.

"I'm very disappointed with the loss, obviously, and our players even made the comment that they wanted to win for the fans because we had such a great crowd," Ford said. "But our players competed and played very hard. That was not an issue at all."

If the Bulldogs (13-1) are indeed a strong candidate for the Final Four, as Ford suggested earlier in the week, then the Cowboys (10-2), who open conference play Saturday at Kansas State, must not be far behind.

What did rankle Ford was the rebounding discrepancy. Gonzaga won on the boards 37-21 and whipped the Cowboys with second chances in the second half when 7-foot center Kelly Olynyk had all of his 21 points and nine rebounds.

"The problem is, we got destroyed on the glass. That's the bottom line," Ford said. "We played good halfcourt defense, we played good offense in the second half. We did everything else, we just did not rebound the basketball. When it's a one-point game at halftime and you shoot 56 percent in the second half (14-for-25), you should be able to win."

The Cowboys had their chances, especially near the end when Smart threatened to take over. The Cowboys led 63-60 with a chance to enlarge the lead, but a turnover led to a bucket by Olynyk and then another when he lost the ball in the air, caught up with it and banked it into the basket to give the Bulldogs the lead.

Smart's basket with 1:03 left gave OSU its last lead. Then, an unlikely hero stepped up for the Bulldogs. Sidelined by a right knee injury in the first half, and looking shaky on his return, guard Gary Bell Jr. stepped up to drain a 3-pointer that put Gonzaga ahead to stay with 37 seconds left.

Olynyk's fifth foul in the lane sent Smart to the line, but his first shot went off the side of the rim and the second popped out. Elias Harris rebounded, Pangos made two foul shots to make it 69-65, and OSU's Phil Forte hit his fifth trey as time expired to account for the final margin.

College basketball

No. 10 Gonzaga 69, No. 22 OSU 68

OSU up next

At No. 25 Kansas State

12:30 p.m. Saturday TV: KMYT-10/41

Radio: KFAQ am1170

Original Print Headline: Missed free throws cost OSU shot at upsetting Gonzaga

Mike Brown 918-581-8390
mike.brown@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

OSU guard Marcus Smart (right) loses his balance while defending Gonzaga guard Gary Bell Jr. on Monday in Stillwater. BRODY SCHMIDT / Associated Press

Gonzaga center Sam Dower (right) looks on as OSU center Philip Jurick struggles with Gonzaga guard David Stockton during the second half Monday in Stillwater. BRODY SCHMIDT / Associated Press