North Texas Defeats Oklahoma State in NIT Third Round
North Texas put an end to the Oklahoma State Cowboys’ season with a 65-59 overtime win in the third round of the men’s Postseason NIT on Tuesday.
North Texas (28-7) advances to the NIT Final Four, which will be in Las Vegas. The Cowboys finish the season 20-16 after being passed over for the NCAA Tournament.
UNT had a 24-17 lead at halftime, and Oklahoma State rallied in the second half. Woody Newton’s 3-point jumper with 1:14 left in regulation tied the game at 55. Both teams had opportunities to take the lead in regulation, including the Cowboys’ Caleb Asberry missing two free throws with 21 seconds left.
Moussa Cisse rebounded the second miss, and after a timeout, the Cowboys’ John-Michael Wright missed a jumper. North Texas’ Tylor Perry missed a 3-pointer with one second left, which sent the game into overtime.
In the extra session, Perry gave UNT the lead for good with 1:52 left on a 3-pointer. The Cowboys went 0-for-4 from the field after UNT took the lead.
Asberry had a team-high 14 points, along with eight rebounds. Cisse had 13 points and seven rebounds. Tyreek Smith had 10 rebounds along with five points.
Oklahoma State was the only Big 12 team in the NIT. Kansas State and Texas are still alive in the NCAA Tournament and play later this week.
This was the second time that coach Mike Boynton Jr. has taken the Cowboys to the NIT quarterfinals. He led them to the same round in his first season as head coach in 2017-18.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
