National Basketball Association
Oklahoma State 81, Arkansas 77
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 30, 2021
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Officials:
# Kipp Kissinger, # Bret Smith, # Brooks Wells
Attendance:
3350
By Field Level Media
Cade Cunningham scored 21 points and hit the tiebreaking jumper with 21 seconds remaining as host Oklahoma State outlasted Arkansas for 81-77 victory Saturday afternoon in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in Stillwater, Okla.
Cunningham came off the bench after missing the previous two games due to COVID-19 protocols and scored 14 points in the second half. He shot 7 of 13 from the field overall, collected seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Cunningham scored 11 points in the final 5:46 and hit his biggest shot down the stretch. After Oklahoma State (11-4) got two offensive rebounds following missed 3-pointers by Cunningham and Issac Likekele, Cunningham spotted up from the right side and hit a difficult step-back jumper over Davonte Davis for a 79-77 lead.
After Cunningham's clutch shot, the Razorbacks (13-5) used two timeouts before Connor Vanover's 3-pointer from the top of the key was partially blocked by Kalib Boone with five seconds remaining.
Cunningham grabbed the rebound with three seconds left and promptly hit two free throws to make it 81-77. He then secured the win by positioning himself near midcourt intercepting the inbounds pass from Justin Smith from underneath the Cowboys' basket with two seconds to go.
Boone added 16 points for the Cowboys, who overcame committing 19 turnovers by shooting 50.8 percent. Avery Anderson III contributed 13 while Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe chipped in 11 for Oklahoma State.
Smith scored 18 points for the Razorbacks, who shot 48.6 percent and committed 15 turnovers. Moses Moody added 17 points for Arkansas, which saw its three-game winning streak halted.
Arkansas took its third five-point lead at 69-64 when Smith finished off a 2-on-1 fast break by converting a layup with 5:58 remaining. After Vanover missed a 3-pointer that would have given Arkansas a six-point lead, Cunningham's jumper forged a 69-69 deadlock with 5:08 remaining and Oklahoma State took a 73-71 lead on two free throws by Moncrieffe with 4:43 left.
Moody's dunk forged a 73-73 tie with 2:56 remaining, but Boone's dunk snapped the tie 23 seconds later. The Razorbacks forged a 75-75 tie with a dunk by Smith, and Cunningham's difficult jumper in the lane made it 77-75 with 1:52 left.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Arkansas |
|
Oklahoma State |
|
Justin Smith 18 |
Scoring |
Cade Cunningham 21 |
|
Justin Smith 4 |
Assists |
Cade Cunningham 5 |
|
Justin Smith 7 |
Rebounds |
Kalib Boone 12 |
|
JD Notae 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Cade Cunningham 5 |
|
Davonte Davis 3 |
Steals |
Cade Cunningham 3 |
|
Connor Vanover 5 |
Blocks |
Kalib Boone 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Arkansas
|
77 |
48.6 |
5-15 |
4-7 |
13 |
30 |
5 |
8 |
15 |
| Oklahoma State
|
81 |
50.8 |
7-20 |
12-15 |
14 |
36 |
7 |
10 |
19 |
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