Oklahoma State Suffers First Loss Against FAU in Charleston Classic
Oklahoma State started well but couldn’t finish to open the Charleston Classic.
OSU fell to Florida Atlantic 86-78 on Thursday afternoon in Charleston. After leading by double figures in the first half, OSU allowed FAU to climb back into the game and take control in the closing moments.
In the final minutes, OSU’s offense went cold, ceding an 11-1 FAU run to put the Owls up seven with under three minutes left. Foul trouble was the story of the final minutes for OSU, with three Cowboys fouling out and another three finishing with four fouls.
The Cowboys’ solid first half was tough to replicate in the second half, with FAU taking the lead back and forcing a back-and-forth battle in the final minutes. Neither team could get into much of an offensive flow after halftime, leading to a grinded-out finish.
Khalil Brantley’s transition layup put the Cowboys up six with 13 minutes left in the second half,
but OSU’s inability to defend without fouling hurt its chances. Allowing FAU to spend most of the second half in the bonus, OSU needed to play better defensively and get more easy opportunities to score.
After it took some time for either team to get into a rhythm, the pace picked up toward the middle of the first half. The Cowboys came back from an early seven-point deficit to take their first lead nearly nine minutes into the game.
OSU got into a rhythm from beyond the arc early in the first half, making four of its first seven shots from outside, including makes from Robert Jennings and Abou Ousmane. A perfectly executed fastbreak capped off with a Jamyron Keller 3-pointer gave OSU its first double-digit lead as part of a 9-0 run with five minutes left in the half.
However, the Cowboys couldn’t hold their lead there to finish the half, as FAU used a solid finish to the half to cut into its deficit and make it a 39-34 OSU lead through 20 minutes.
OSU will play its next game in the Charleston Classic on Friday against Miami.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.