UCF lets another opportunity slip away, falls to Oklahoma State 111-104 in overtime

UCF’s margin for error has gotten smaller.

Just a week after the Knights boosted their NCAA Tournament profile with back-to-back road wins at Utah and then-No. 19 BYU, they closed their home schedule with two crushing losses, first by one point to Baylor and then Tuesday night’s 111-104 overtime defeat to Oklahoma State at Addition Financial Arena.

The Cowboys entered the night 5-11 in Big 12 play and tied for 13th place, but they walked out of Orlando with a season sweep of UCF and a badly needed road win. UCF, meanwhile, slipped to 20-9 overall and 9-8 in league play with one regular-season game remaining Friday at West Virginia.

That is still a tournament-worthy résumé on paper. Entering the week, UCF owned a 2.61 wins-above-bubble mark, four Quad 1 wins and a 46 NET ranking, and no Big 12 team finishing above .500 in league play since 2009 has missed the NCAA Tournament. But after letting consecutive home opportunities get away, the Knights now head to Morgantown needing a win to guarantee themselves a winning league record.

Fast start, familiar slide

For a while, UCF looked ready to respond.

The Knights jumped out to a 23-10 lead in the opening half and played with the kind of energy that had fueled their road sweep. John Bol gave UCF an early spark, and Elijah Hulsewe provided an unexpected lift off the bench, helping the Knights build a 13-point advantage. But the game changed when UCF lost some of its discipline. Oklahoma State began capitalizing on turnovers, got downhill more consistently, and slowly erased the deficit on its way to a 45-40 halftime lead.

Johnny Dawkins said the biggest issue was that his team strayed from what had built the early lead.

“We did a good job of building the lead, and I thought we got out of character,” Dawkins said. “I thought when we built the lead, we took a couple ill-advised shots that we don’t usually take in our system, as well as we turned the ball over. And a 13-point lead is no lead in college basketball anymore.”

That frustration only grew in a game constantly interrupted by whistles. Oklahoma State finished 32 of 40 at the foul line, while UCF went 33 of 45. The teams combined for 85 free-throw attempts, 53 total fouls and one technical on Dawkins. The Cowboys also won the rebounding battle 47-39, a major swing in a game where UCF came in 17-0 when winning the glass.

A chance to steal it, then overtime slips away

Even after letting the game get away several times, UCF still had chances to win.

The Knights trailed by seven with under five minutes left in regulation and were still down six inside the final minute. Themus Fulks helped bring them back, and after Oklahoma State pushed the lead back to 94-91 with 24 seconds left, Chris Johnson drilled a step-back three with 11 seconds remaining to tie the game at 94-94 and send the building into a frenzy.

But unlike Friday’s loss to Baylor, when one last possession proved costly, this time UCF had five extra minutes and could not make enough winning plays.

The Knights briefly grabbed the edge in overtime, yet Oklahoma State controlled the critical moments. UCF scored just 10 points in the extra session, missed three of its five free throws there and gave up a pair of crushing offensive rebounds to Andrija Vukovic.

With 1:12 left, Kanye Clary buried a second-chance three to extend the Cowboys’ lead to 104-100, and Oklahoma State calmly closed it out at the stripe from there. UCF shot just 2-for-5 on free throws and 0-for-2 from three in overtime, while the Cowboys went 8-for-10 at the line and finished the extra period plus-6 on the glass.

“I thought we did a good job initially starting overtime. We got the lead,” Dawkins said. “Then I thought we missed the free throws, and I thought we missed a couple layups. They made those plays.”

That was the story of the night. UCF scored 50 points in the paint and actually held slight edges in second-chance points and bench points, but Oklahoma State’s work on the glass and efficiency at the line ultimately outweighed it.

Missed opportunity, but still everything in front of them

Fulks led UCF with 22 points and six assists, while Riley Kugel added 18. Bol continued his steady development with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Hulsewe’s energy was one of the night’s bright spots.

Yet the bigger takeaway was what UCF could not do: finish. Oklahoma State had lost six of its previous seven games and entered the game just 1-7 in true road games, but the Cowboys found enough offense and toughness to steal one in Orlando. OSU, which came in averaging 83.3 points per game and ranking among the Big 12’s fastest-paced teams, looked comfortable in a high-possession game.

Kugel suggested the Knights have to treat every remaining opportunity with the same urgency, regardless of the opponent’s résumé.

“We’ve got to do a better job of not looking at the name of the other team and just proceeding every game like how we’re supposed to play,” Kugel said. “If we buy in more in practice, it would really help us and benefit us.”

Chris Johnson struck a similar note when asked what has to carry UCF into March.

“Defense is the main thing,” Johnson said. “If we play defense, that will translate to offense. So if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

Dawkins, meanwhile, tried to keep the focus on the response.

“We have to understand the importance of regrouping and responding,” he said. “We’ve done that all throughout the season. We have to do it again.”

That is now the challenge. UCF has done enough this season to remain in the NCAA Tournament picture. But after a promising road trip gave way to a disappointing final home stand, Friday night at West Virginia suddenly feels far more important than it did a week ago.

OSU coach impressed with Knights

Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz credited Dawkins for the team he built.

“You guys have a heck of a basketball team,” Lutz said. “I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the job that Coach Dawkins has done with this team… I don’t want this to come off wrong because we all have great jobs. But (UCF) is not one of the higher resource jobs within our league. And for him to be able to put that roster together and for them to be able to play together, they seem to really like one another. They share the basketball. They play hard. They’re very talented offensively, and he’s gotten them to buy in defensively.

“And that’s hard to do in this portal and NIL age. It really is. And that’s why I’m so impressed, again, so impressed with what he’s done.”