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Moses leads charge as Oklahoma State upends No. 24 Texas

Mar 1, 2009 - 5:05 AM STILLWATER, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Oklahoma State picked a good time to notch its first win over a ranked team this season.

Marshall Moses scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the Cowboys extended their winning streak to five games by posting a 68-59 victory over No. 24 Texas on Saturday.

James Anderson netted 16 points and Terrel Harris added 13 to help Oklahoma State (19-9, 8-6 Big 12) snap a six-game skid against its conference rival. It also had been 0-5 against ranked opponents.

"We needed that to get to the NCAA Tournament," Moses said. "We haven't been in our careers. Beating Texas is definitely a boost. It was one of the most fun games, if not the most fun game, I've ever played in.

"It feels great to know our fans support us like that. That team could beat us by 30, but they believed we could win."

Damion James recorded 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Longhorns (19-9, 8-6), who had their two-game winning streak halted despite going on a 10-0 run late in the second half after trailing, 30-18, at halftime.

Harrison Smith converted a tip-in to pull Texas within 59-57 with 3:48 remaining in the contest, but it went on to miss its next six attempts and was not able to complete the comeback.

"We had our chances. Our guys showed a lot of heart," Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said. "It blows my mind that we put the ball inside, and I do not even think we got to the free-throw line in the first half. That was really surprising to me of how hard we had to work to get the ball inside."

Oklahoma State held star guard A.J. Abrams to nine points on 3-of-15 shooting. Abrams entered the game averaging 17.3 points.

"We played defense and rebounded," Harris said. "We held them to one shot the majority of the time. They got a few offensive rebounds. When they did, that's when they hurt us. When they started getting those offensive boards, that's when they started hurting us - that's what they're known for."

The Cowboys, who clamped down defensively as the Longhorns shot 32 percent from the floor, used an 11-0 run in the middle of the first half to enter the locker room with a healthy advantage.

"I love the perseverance of our basketball team," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "We were playing very good basketball most of the game. Even when Texas made their run we weren't playing bad basketball, but they just really upped their game and became very physical with us."

After Jones made a layup with 8:12 remaining in the first, Obi Muonelo capped the Cowboys' six-minute spurt with a 3-pointer to give it a 28-13 lead.

"I told our team before the game that they are bigger than we are but we play big," Ford said. "That's what we did tonight; I thought we played big and most of it had to do with how hard our guys played."

Oklahoma State had last defeated Texas, 105-103, in triple overtime on January 16, 2007, and began its current winning streak following the loss to the Longhorns on February 10.

"I do not know if there is any difference between (the last matchup and this game)," Barnes said. "I think they made a couple lineup changes. We had a night down there where we shot the ball well. We had a lot of shots at the rim, and missed them. I cannot explain that."