KANSAS CITY, MO — Christian Coleman reached high but couldn’t grab the alley-oop pass from Jaylen Curry.
But it glanced off his fingertips, hit the backboard, then the rim and fell in the basket.
It wasn’t the prettiest clutch play by the Oklahoma State forward, but it was as important as any of them.
Coleman’s alley-oops layup with just over two minutes remaining helped the 14th-seeded Cowboys stretch their lead on the way to a 92-83 win over No. 11 Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday at T-Mobile Center.
Had Coleman gotten his hands on the ball, it would have been a massive exclamation-point jam, yet as he rose for it, he could tell it was out of his reach.
“But God had his hands around it and it kinda fell in for me,” Coleman said with a laugh. “So we count it.”
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Coleman finished with 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds, backing guard Anthony Roy, who had 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. Curry added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Late in the game, the lanky 6-foot-8 Coleman moved to center as coach Steve Lutz was forced to put a small lineup on the floor.
The Cowboys were without their two most-used bigs, Parsa Fallah and Andrija Vukovic, because of injuries. Their freshman replacements, Benjamin Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland, found themselves in foul trouble.
“He’s versatile,” said OSU point guard Kanye Clary, who had seven points, six assists and five rebounds. “He can guard the 1-5. He switches and plays hard.
“When he’s motored up, I don’t really think there’s nobody who can stop him. He’s the only person who can stop himself. And tonight, he went out there and showed how impactful he is.”
The Cowboys (19-13) will take on sixth-seeded TCU at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday as they try to once again keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
“Our mentality has been the same every game in the Big 12, because the league is so darn hard,” Lutz said. “If you look forward, you have no chance.
“I’m proud of the guys for sticking together and banding together, because we’ve had some key people, teammates, go down and we had to piece it together. I’m just happy for them and excited to face TCU tomorrow night.”
Here are three takeaways from the OSU victory:
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Anthony Roy settles in for big game
In an odd twist, Colorado was hit with a technical foul for not submitting its lineup in time prior to the game, and that put Roy on the free throw line before the tipoff.
He missed the attempt, but it was the only one he’d miss all night, hitting the next 10.
Roy hit some rough patches throughout the first half, at one point getting quickly subbed out after missing an awkward 3-pointer from the corner.
But in the second half, he found his rhythm, going 5 of 6 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and a couple tough drives for layups.
“He got to the free-throw line and made 10 of 11,” Lutz said. “I thought he did a good job with that. And we tease him a bunch about his defense, but I thought at the end of the game when it mattered, he played good defense. And he rebounded the basketball.”
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Freshmen Benjamin Ahmed, Mekhi Ragland play key minutes
With the Cowboys thin in the frontcourt, Ahmed made his third straight start, and Ragland was the first center off the bench.
Ahmed went to the bench after getting his fourth foul with 7:20 to play and didn’t return, but still played his second-most minutes in a game this season at 21. He finished with seven points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.
“Parsa going down, he spoke to me about it that I have a big role to fill,” Ahmed said. “It’s a learning process for me. I’m just excited to see what the future holds for me.”
Ragland had four points, a rebound and an assist in eight minutes — his most against a Big 12 opponent.
“It felt good being able to step up,” Ragland said. “I’ve wanted to show myself and show what I can do all year.
“The first couple up-and-downs, you’re a little nervous, but that goes away fast. It’s just basketball at the end of the day, so I was ready for the moment.”
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OSU by the numbers
∎ The Cowboys are now 29-1 under Steve Lutz when scoring at least 81 points. The only loss came to TCU earlier this year, 95-92 in overtime at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
∎ The 92 points scored Tuesday are the most by OSU in the Big 12 Tournament. The previous high was 87, scored against Colorado in 2005.
∎ Coleman’s 14 rebounds were his season high and tied his career high.
∎ Adding a new combination Tuesday, OSU has used 19 different starting lineups this season.
∎ Clary led the team in plus-minus at 17, followed by Vyctorius Miller at 14.
Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on X at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
Oklahoma State vs. TCU
TIPOFF: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. (ESPNU)
