STILLWATER, Okla. – A whirlwind 48 hours for Wichita State saw its season officially come to a close Tuesday night at Oklahoma State, 89-79, in the first round of the NIT.

Wichita State finishes the season at 19-15 overall. Oklahoma State (16-17) advances to the second round and will face the winner of SMU and Northern Iowa. It marked the first postseason appearance since 2021 and first NIT bid since 2019.

Xavier Bell became the 49th Shocker to eclipse 1,000 career points on a three-pointer early in the first half. He came into the game just one point away from the 1K club. He finished with a game-high 24 points in his final collegiate game, his eighth 20-point game of the season.

Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard both recorded double-doubles. Washington logged 21 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting, while Ballard had 19 points and 15 rebounds. His 15 rebounds were one off a career high.

The trio of Bell, Washington and Ballard accounted for 64 of the team's 79 points.

Wichita State was outrebounded for the second straight game, 46-42, including 17 Oklahoma State offensive rebounds. The Cowboys scored 21 points off those second chances.

Oklahoma State shot 44 percent overall and 9-of-21 from three-point range.

Wichita State got out to an early 16-10 lead behind 11 combined points from Ballard (6) and Washington (5). After Ballard's dunk put the Shockers up six, Oklahoma State answered with a 10-0 run to take its first lead, 20-16, with 11:25 left in the opening half.

Washington briefly snapped the run with a dunk, only to see Bryce Thompson score the next five points to put the Cowboys up seven. Thompson had 15 of Oklahoma State's first 25 points.

The Cowboys kept the foot on the gas, extending their lead to as many as 15, 37-22, with 4:42 remaining until halftime.

Wichita State was not about to pack it in. The Shockers punched back with a 13-3 run to close the first half, pulling within five at the break, 40-35. Bell (12), Ballard (12) and Washington (9) combined for all but two of Wichita State's 35 first half points. The only other Shocker to score in the half was Bijan Cortes.

The second half started much the same way as the first, as Wichita State scored the first seven points to leap back in front, 42-40. The next 5:00-plus minutes would be both teams trading scores, as neither team led by more than three points.

After a pair of Justin Hill free throws tied the game at 52, Oklahoma State scored on its next three possessions to go up, 59-52.

A Harlond Beverly driving layup stopped the 7-0 run, but it would be answered by another Oklahoma State 8-0 spurt behind a pair of three-pointers and an offensive rebound putback.

The Cowboys hung on to a double digit lead for essentially the final 10 minutes. Wichita State never pulled closer than seven the rest of the way.