Oklahoma State will look to remain perfect on the season when it squares off against talented Florida Atlantic on Thursday afternoon in a first-round game at the Charleston Classic in South Carolina.
The winner will play the victor of the earlier game putting Drake against Miami on Friday, with the losers battling in the consolation round.
Both Oklahoma State and FAU have new coaches this season and are still trying to get fundamentals and nuances in place in the coaches’ respective schemes.
The Cowboys (3-0) head to the tournament on the heels of an 85-78 home win over Southern Illinois last Thursday. Two of their bench players, Abou Ousmane and Brandon Newman, each scored 18 points to help Oklahoma State to a 57-19 edge in scoring from its reserves.
Marchelus Avery added 11 points and Bryce Thompson tallied 10 for the Cowboys. The game was tied at 49-49 with 13:33 to play before Oklahoma State fashioned a 27-9 run over the ensuing six-plus minutes. Southern Illinois closed to within four points with 24 seconds left before running out of steam.
“We need to learn how to finish,” Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz said. “We get away from playing winning basketball and put ourselves in a bind a little bit. Some of that is just ill-advised shots or just lack of communication and getting matched up defensively.”
The Owls (3-2) head back to Charleston after earning the consolation championship in the Field of 68 tournament with a 77-74 overtime win over Liberty on Saturday. Matas Vokietaitis led FAU with career-high 17 points, while Leland Walker had 16 and Kaleb Glenn and Niccolo Moretti each scored 12.
The Owls bounced back from a double-overtime loss on Friday to host Charleston and snapped a two-game losing streak.
“We will organize our thoughts about how we are going to guard and how we are going to get out and run,” FAU coach John Jakus said. “Oklahoma State is a good defensive team that puts on a lot of pressure. We feel like it’s going to be a good challenge for us and another way for us to take a step forward.”