KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two of Oklahoma State's biggest heroes nearly cost the Cowboys the game -- all because of their hustle.
Joey Graham and Ivan McFarlin both went for a defensive rebound in the closing seconds Friday night, with No. 10 Oklahoma State clinging to a 2-point lead over Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
They tangled, drawing a traveling call and giving the 11th-seeded Buffaloes one more shot at a second straight upset. But Marcus Hall's 3-point try at the buzzer bounced off the rim, preserving Oklahoma State's 87-85 victory and putting the third-seeded Cowboys into Saturday's semifinal against No. 9 and second-seeded Kansas.
"I was glad he missed the shot," said McFarlin, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the defending tournament champions, "but we shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place."
Graham scored 24 points, including two clutch free throws with 7.8 seconds left, and John Lucas added 18 points for the Cowboys (22-6). Their game against Kansas will be a rematch of the best game of the Big 12 season, Kansas' 81-79 victory over the Cowboys on Feb. 27 in Lawrence, Kan.
The teams combined to shoot 62 percent in that game. This one will match two Big 12 players of the year, Kansas' Wayne Simien and Oklahoma State's Lucas, who won the honor in 2004.
"Kansas will be another great game," Graham said. "We'll be ready for them, and I'm pretty sure they'll be ready for us."
Colorado's Andy Osborn hit a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to go, cutting Oklahoma State's lead to 85-84, but Graham answered with his two free throws to make it 87-84.
The Cowboys then committed a tactical foul, with Daniel Bobik grabbing Hall before the Buffaloes could get down the floor for a 3-point attempt.
Hall hit the first free throw with five seconds left. He deliberately missed the second, the rebound that led to the traveling violation against Oklahoma State.
"I actually thought they gave them the timeout," Hall said. "Then I saw what happened, and I got it in my head to run an out of bounds play. Coach (Ricardo Patton) had the same thought. Unfortunately, it didn't work out."
Richard Roby hit four 3-pointers and led Colorado with 21 points but he wasn't available to take the last shot for the Buffaloes because he had fouled out seconds earlier.
Colorado (14-16), which upset sixth-seeded Texas 81-69 on Thursday to become the first No. 11 seed to reach the quarterfinals in the tournament's nine-year history, struggled from the free-throw line, making just 15-of-26.
"It is very unfortunate. We have struggled from the line all year," Roby said. "Free throws win games."
JamesOn Curry added 14 points and Bobik had 10 for Oklahoma State, which won despite hitting only one field goal after Lucas' 3-pointer with 4:50 left made it 80-71.
Roby's 480 points this season broke Colorado's freshman record, set by Chauncey Billups in the 1995-96 season.
Colorado's Julius Ashby added 19 points and Jayson Obazuaye had 18, career highs for both. Osborn hit three 3s and finished with 10 points.
The Cowboys committed six turnovers in the first six minutes, and Roby hit his first 3-point tries as Colorado raced out to a 16-6 lead. Oklahoma State settled down after that, turning the ball over only six more times in the game, but never managed to take decisive control.
An 18-4 run over 7½ minutes gave Oklahoma State the lead for good at 24-20. The Cowboys held their last double-digit lead, 77-67, with just over six minutes left before Colorado started its late run.
"We got a little passive," Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton said. "The biggest thing was our defense. Normally when my team scores 87 points, we win by double digits. This team is not very good defensively."
