Hammonds, Oklahoma State stay hot with 71-68 win over TCU

Published Feb. 16, 2017 12:16 a.m. ET

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Leyton Hammonds scored 21 points, Jeffrey Carroll added 17 and Oklahoma State continued its Big 12 surge with a 71-68 victory against TCU on Wednesday night.

Jawun Evans had 16 points and a career-high 12 assists as the Cowboys (17-9, 6-7 Big 12) won for the sixth time in seven conference games since opening at 0-6, the school's worst start in league play in 37 years.

Oklahoma State pulled even with TCU (17-9, 6-7) for fifth place in the Big 12 with a season sweep of the Horned Frogs.

Brandon Averette hit two free throws after a steal by Carroll to give Oklahoma State a 68-67 lead with 1:03 remaining. Evans hit a long jumper for a three-point lead with 13 seconds remaining. The Horned Frogs didn't call timeout, and Kenrich Williams and Alex Robinson each missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

JD Miller scored 16 points for TCU, and Williams had 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Williams clinched his 10th double-double of the season by tossing in a shot as he was falling down with the shot clock about to expire, giving TCU a 66-63 lead with three minutes to go after Robinson missed the rim on a driving layup attempt.

Hammonds, who went to high school just a few miles from the TCU campus, scored 16 points in the first half, and Carroll had a 3-pointer that gave their biggest lead at 54-45 with 12 minutes remaining.

But freshman Jaylen Fisher answered quickly with a 3-point play, and Williams later started a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer. Fisher scored seven straight TCU points in one stretch, starting with a 3 that put the Horned Frogs in front at 58-57 with 8:08 remaining.

BIG PICTURE

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys can say their NCAA Tournament hopes are alive thanks to seven wins in eight games, including a victory against Arkansas in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.

TCU: The Horned Frogs, trying to make the tournament for the first time in 19 years in coach Jamie Dixon's first season at his alma mater, had another potentially damaging home loss. The other was to Auburn in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma State: Rival Oklahoma on Saturday, then a trip next Wednesday to Kansas State, where coach Brad Underwood was on the staff at his alma mater for six seasons from 2006-11.

TCU: A tough two-game road swing to Iowa State on Saturday and No. 3 Kansas next Wednesday.