Ali Abdou Dibba scored 15 points and Hunter Jack Madden added 14 as Abilene Christian notched a 64-59 upset of Oklahoma State on Monday night in the season opener for both teams at Stillwater, Okla.
Airion Simmons contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for Abilene Christian, which is no stranger to handing an upset to a Big 12 program. The Wildcats defeated Texas 53-52 in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Bryce Thompson scored 19 points for Oklahoma State but missed five of his seven free-throw attempts. Mike Marsh added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Cowboys.
Oklahoma State trailed by 18 with 13:25 to play before mounting a late charge. The Cowboys were in position to tie the score but Connor Dow’s 3-pointer with under four seconds left bounced off the rim.
With 0.9 seconds remaining, Madden hit two free throws to sew up the win for the Wildcats.
Abilene Christian led by 10 as the clock slipped under five minutes to play as Oklahoma State made a frantic dash.
Thompson scored three baskets in 68 seconds as the Cowboys pulled within 55-51 with 3:44 remaining. Cameron Steele drilled a 3-pointer to move the Wildcats ahead by seven with 3:31 left. Marsh then made consecutive baskets as Oklahoma State cut its deficit to 58-55 with 2:23 left.
Madden hit a jumper with two minutes to give Abliene Christian a five-point advantage.
But the Cowboys kept pushing and Thompson buried a 3-pointer as Oklahoma State moved within 62-59 with 37.5 seconds remaining.
But after a steal by Thompson, he was fouled and missed two free throws with 35.5 seconds left as the Cowboys were a porous 8 of 20 from the line.
Oklahoma State made 41.1 percent of its attempts from the floor and was just 5 of 23 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats shot 45.6 percent from the field, including 5 of 18 from 3-point range.
Abilene Christian led by 11 at halftime and soon increased the lead to 44-28 on a basket by Simmons with 14:24 left in the contest. Seat drained a 3-pointer 59 seconds later to make it 47-29.
Oklahoma State displayed life with an 11-2 run, fueled by three 3-pointers from Dow, to move within nine with 10:20 remaining.
Dibba and Madden answered with back-to-back baskets to move Abilene Christian’s lead to 53-40 with nine minutes left.
Dibba had nine points in the first half as Abilene Christian held a 36-25 lead at the break.
–Field Level Media
