Thomas Dziagwa of Oklahoma State hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points as the undermanned Cowboys slipped past South Carolina 74-70 Saturday in Stillwater.

“It was big, but coach has been preaching for the past two weeks that we were right there,” Dziagwa said. “We were knocking on the door. We broke the door down today, but we were chopping wood and today the tree eventually fell.”

Lindy Waters III scored OSU’s final four points, including two free throws at the end of the game. Waters III scored 17 points and had six rebounds.

The game was back and forth with 22 lead changes.

OSU coach Mike Boyton praised his team’s defensive communication.

“That was the key to us being able to [defend] so effectively,” Boynton said. “The kids on the court have to communicate with each other and then they have to communicate within the possession when things get a little whacky. Which happens from time to time because teams find other ways to attack you. Frank Martin did a great job of adjusting to our 1-3-1 in the second half and then our guys made another adjustment to keep them off-balanced.”

South Carolina head coach Frank Martin knew OSU was better than their record.

“We live in a time where from afar where everybody says, ‘Oh, they’re no good’” Martin said. “When you actually study film for a living like I do you can tell which teams are good and which teams are not good regardless of record. I never look at team records. I could care less about records. I coached in this league. It’s one of the great atmospheres and great home court environments in the country. They’ve got a good group of guys that have played a high caliber of games in this league. Unfortunately depth is a problem right now and he’s kept those kids together.”

OSU (9-11, 2-5 in the Big 12) returns to action at 5 p.m. on Saturday with Kansas State at Gallagher-Iba Arena.