For the third straight time in Gallagher-Iba Arena, 40 minutes of basketball just wasn’t enough. On Wednesday night, not even 45 minutes proved sufficient.
Naadir Tharpe made a running jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left in double overtime and the Kansas Jayhawks escaped Stillwater with a 68-67 win over Oklahoma State.
It was the one of two baskets made by Tharpe in the contest and the only field by the Jayhawks in either overtime period.
Markel Brown led the way for Oklahoma State (19-6, 9-4 Big 12) with 20 points. Marcus Smart had 16, but was only 2-0f-13 from the field and didn’t make his first basket until the 3:20 mark in the second half.
Foul trouble and missed free throws hurt both teams. But OSU lost both Smart and Michael Cobbins with five fouls in the second OT and missed Smart as one more offensive option on the Cowboys’ final possession, down by one.
Three players scored in double figures for Kansas (22-4, 10-3 Big 12) with Travis Releford putting in a team high 18 points. Jeff Withey had 17 to go with 14 rebounds.
Marcus Smart made a three-pointer to ties the game and send it into the first overtime and Phil Forte’s three did the same to take the contest into the second extra session.