Javon Small hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 53 seconds left and Oklahoma State held on to defeat West Virginia, 70-66, Saturday afternoon in the school's annual Remember the Ten game.
Saturday marked the 23rd anniversary of a plane crash in Colorado that claimed the lives of 10 members of the Cowboy Basketball family.
Brandon Garrison matched his career-high with 20 points to go with four steals and four assists. He was 6-of-8 from the field and converted 8-of-10 free throws.
Small claimed his second double-double of the season with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
John-Michael Wright added 10 points to boost his NCAA career total to 1,990.
The Cowboys (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) notched their first conference win and slew a number of other dragons in the process. It was their first win in a game decided by five points or less (1-7) and also their first when tied or trailing at halftime (1-9).
The Cowboys outscored the Mountaineers 20-8 at the foul line (16-3 after halftime) and won the rebounding battle, 34-29, limiting WVU to just three second-chance points in the process.
WVU (7-13, 2-5) connected on 10-of-22 threes, led by Kerr Kriisa (21 points on 6-of-8) and Quinn Slazinski (18 on 4-of-6).
OSU made just 8-of-27 from deep (.296) but connected on each of its last three attempts over the final 5:11 to erase a 61-54 deficit.
Wright and Bryce Thompson hit on back-to-back to cap an 8-0 Cowboy run. The latter pushed the hosts ahead 62-61 with 3:25 remaining.
Akok Akok gave the Mountaineers their final lead of the night, 66-64, on a pair of free throws with 1:12 to go.
Small's three with 54 seconds left provided the last of 10 lead changes, pushing OSU ahead 67-66.
Garrison upped the margin to 69-66 when he forced a steal and converted two free throws with 27 seconds on the clock.
WVU's Akok missed a three on the next trip down, Thompson grabbed the rebound and iced the game with one more free throw.
An entertaining first half saw OSU jump out to a 21-14 lead near the midway point on Small's four-point play.
Slazinski had eight points during a 13-0 Mountaineer run that flipped the score to 27-21 with 5:28 left in the period.
Jarius Hicklen made a three and Garrison made a short jumper to cut the margin to 33-32 at halftime.
The lead changed hands twice more in the early stages of the second half. Kriisa was 6-for-6 after nailing back-to-back threes for a six-point lead with 6:54 left, but he missed his last two attempts of the game before fouling out with 26 seconds to go.
Slazinski's last triple gave WVU its largest lead, 61-54, at the 5:11-mark.
OSU's defensive buckled down from there. The Mountaineers were just 1-of-8 the rest of the way.
The win gives OSU a 13-12 lead in the all-time series with WVU.
The Cowboys are back on the road Tuesday night at No. 7 Kansas (8 p.m. CT, ESPN).