STILLWATER, Okla — Marcus Carr scored 12 points to help No. 6 Texas defeat Oklahoma State 56-46 on Saturday in the Longhorns’ first game since coach Chris Beard was fired.
Texas (13-2, 2-1 Big 12) improved to 6-1 under interim coach Rodney Terry.
Beard faces a felony domestic family violence charge stemming from a Dec. 12 incident involving his fiancée. Beard had been suspended without pay since he was arrested and was fired Thursday, with the school saying that he was “unfit” for the position.
Kalib Boone had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma State (9-6, 1-2), which narrowly lost to No. 3 Kansas on Dec. 31 and had a solid win over West Virginia before Saturday’s loss. Oklahoma State’s Moussa Cisse missed the game with an ankle injury; the 7-foot-1 forward leads the Big 12 with 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game.
Texas led 32-24 at halftime despite shooting 32.1% before the break. Eight Longhorns scored in the first half, but none more than five points. Texas held Oklahoma State to 33.3% shooting and outscored the Cowboys 12-7 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes.
An alley-oop dunk by Boone cut Texas’ lead to 43-41, and Caleb Asberry followed with a 3-pointer that finally gave the Cowboys a 44-43 lead with 8:20 remaining.
Texas responded, and a 3-pojnter by Brock Cunningham with about two minutes remaining put the Longhorns up 53-46.
BIG PICTURE
Texas: It was a good defensive effort for the Longhorns coming off a game in which they gave up 116 points in a loss to Kansas State — the most they had ever allowed in a Big 12 game.
Oklahoma State: Even without one of their top players, the Cowboys hung tough against a top-10 team that had been averaging 84.1 points per game.
UP NEXT
Texas: Hosts TCU on Wednesday.
Oklahoma State: Visits Kansas State on Tuesday.