Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Texas 62, Oklahoma St. 50
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, March 4, 2016
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Officials: # Keith Kimble, # Kipp Kissinger, # Gary Maxwell
Attendance: 4023

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Texas looked for someone to provide some energy on Friday night.

Eventually, reserve guard Kerwin Roach Jr. gave the No. 23 Longhorns what they needed.

Roach scored all 15 of his points in the second half, including nine in the final 4 1/2 minutes, lifting Texas past Oklahoma State 62-50 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the regular-season finale for both teams.

In a game that featured nine lead changes and 13 ties, the Longhorns rode Roach's hot hand late to separate from Oklahoma State.

"He did what he's been getting better and better at doing all year long," Texas coach Shaka Smart said. "He hit a couple really, really big outside shots for us. And he's really good at slashing and making plays and finishing them off. And that was huge because we had some guys who didn't particularly have their best offensive game."

Texas (20-11, 11-7 Big 12) led 50-48 when Roach broke free for a layup and a four-point lead -- matching its largest of the game. He added a short jumper followed by a 3-pointer that served as a dagger with 1:36 remaining, pushing the margin to 60-50.

"All I know is I had my team behind me," said Roach, who matched his second-best scoring outing of the season. "My team was cheering me on. It made me keep going. And I had Coach Smart saying, 'Go attack them, go attack them.'

"So having that confidence from the coach, and him installing it to me, just made me go. Just having a good day. That's what you call having a good day."

Smart said more good games are coming from Roach, too.

"You're talking about a guy who has limitless potential," Smart said. "He knows. We all know. He's still got a lot of progress to make, that's the exciting thing. But nights like this are steps in that direction. And he's been making steps all year.

"You're talking about someone who works every day after practice. He's always watching tape, wanting to get better. And it paid off in this game. And we needed it."

The Longhorns needed it with top scorer Isaiah Taylor making just 5 of 14 shots from the floor and the Texas starters combining for only 34 points.

Oklahoma State (12-19, 3-15) needed more as well, with forward Leyton Hammonds scoring a game-high 20 points but no one else providing much. Hammonds' nine field goals were more than the rest of the Cowboys combined.

Oklahoma State is playing without its top two scorers, guards Jawun Evans and Phil Forte, who were lost for the season to injury.

Others have been hampered, too, including Hammonds, who didn't play in Wednesday night's loss at Iowa State while dealing with a dislocated index finger on his shooting hand.

"We're just challenged offensively to have a guy who can just make that play for you," Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. "Whether it be creating for somebody else, or knocking down that shot.

"It's a tough league to be challenged. But at no point in the last six, seven games have we gone on an offensive spurt."

Instead, it has been a losing spurt for Oklahoma State, which had its season-worst losing streak extended to six games.

Texas bounced back from a bad loss after being routed by Kansas 86-56 at home on Monday.

"The Kansas game, that wasn't Texas basketball," said center Shaquille Cleare, who had eight points and eight rebounds off the bench. "We were upset about it, but we couldn't stay bummed about it because we knew we had to come here and play another good team.

"We watched film. We grew. We had two great days of practice and we prepared for this game. We swallowed that one. It was a hard one to swallow. But we refocused and came back and got this game."

The score was tied at 29 at the half.

Hammonds fueled the Cowboys, making 7 of 11 shots from the floor in scoring 15 points. He started 4 of 4 with a 3-pointer, two days after being unable to play at Iowa State because of the dislocated finger suffered Saturday.

NOTES: Texas reached 20 wins for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons while coach Shaka Smart extended his streak to seven after doing it for all six of his seasons at VCU. ... It was Senior Night for Oklahoma State, with five seniors recognized in a ceremony before the game: Jeff Newberry, Chris Olivier, Anthony Allen, Ford Stuen and Codey McElroy. All five started. Only Newberry is a regular starter. Stuen and McElroy are walk-ons. ... Jeffrey Carroll (illness) also missed Oklahoma State's loss at Iowa State on Wednesday but returned Friday.
Top Game Performances
 
Texas   Oklahoma St.
Kerwin Roach Jr. 15 Scoring Leyton Hammonds 20
Javan Felix 3 Assists Tyree Griffin 2
Shaquille Cleare 8 Rebounds Tyree Griffin 6
Connor Lammert 2 Free Throws Made Tyree Griffin 4
Kerwin Roach Jr. 2 Steals Tavarius Shine 1
Prince Ibeh 4 Blocks Anthony Allen Jr. 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Texas 62 43.9 5-16 7-9 11 29 5 4 6
Oklahoma St. 50 38.6 3-13 13-22 4 30 3 1 9