KyKy Tandy, FAU close out Oklahoma State in Charleston Classic
KyKy Tandy scored a season-high 21 points that included a key 3-pointer in a late second-half surge as Florida Atlantic roared back to beat Oklahoma State 86-78 on Thursday in the opening round of the Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.
Florida Atlantic (4-2) advances to play Drake in the semifinal round on Friday while the Cowboys square off against Miami in the consolation semifinal contest, also Friday.
Oklahoma State led by as many as 10 points in the first half before securing a five-point advantage at halftime. The Owls surged back and moved in front with four and a half minutes to play. It was part of an 11-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Tandy that made it 75-68 with 2:41 remaining.
Ken Evans added 14 points for Florida Atlantic, with Leland Walker hitting for 13 and Tre Carroll scoring 11. The Owls went 35-of-49 from the free throw line as the teams combined for 56 fouls in the game, 33 by Oklahoma State.
Khalil Brantley led Oklahoma State (3-1) with 16 points while Robert Jennings added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Cowboys, who hit one field goal over a 10-minute stretch of the second half while having three players foul out.
The Owls were up by as many as seven points in the early minutes and by 13-10 after a layup by Carroll at the 11:32 mark of the first half. Oklahoma State leapfrogged to the front on Abou Ousmane’s layup off a Brantley steal, fell behind again on a 3-pointer by Evans and then responded on a 3-pointer by Jennings to take a 17-16 lead.
From there, the Cowboys stoked their advantage to double digits when Jamyron Keller canned a shot from beyond the arc with five minutes to play in the half. Florida Atlantic got a layup and a monster dunk from Matas Vokietaitis and a pair of free throws from Walker in a 6-2 run to end the half to pull within 39-34 at the break.
Jennings and Ousmane tallied seven points apiece for Oklahoma State over the first 20 minutes, as the Cowboys led despite shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor in the half.
Carroll and Vokietaitis scored seven points apiece to pace the Owls, who committed 11 turnovers that translated to seven points for Oklahoma State before halftime.
–Field Level Media
Norman 5-star guard Keeley Parks is headed to Kansas over OU and OSU
Norman star guard Keeley Parks, the state’s top basketball recruit in the 2025 class, announced her commitment to Kansas on Wednesday, choosing the Jayhawks over OU and Oklahoma State.
A five-star prospect according to ESPN, Parks was named The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year last season after averaging 26.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 2.9 assists per game.
Her season low was 16 points, and she had 13 double-doubles, including five with double-digit steals.
It’s been a good week for Kansas women’s basketball.
Five-star forward Jaliya Davis of Blue Valley North in Overland Park, Kansas, committed to the Jayhawks on Tuesday and signed the following day.
Parks’ older sister Mikayla plays at Kansas State but is redshirting this season.
Geno Auriemma becomes NCAA all-time wins leader with victory No. 1,217
Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma added to an already sparkling resume Wednesday night when, with an 85-41 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson at home in Gampel Pavilion, he became the NCAA all-time wins leader in college basketball, surpassing former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who hit that milestone in January 2024 before retiring at the end of last season. Auriemma is one of four coaches (VanDerveer, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and the late Pat Summitt of Tennessee) to have compiled 1,000 Division-I wins.
Extra points
RODEO: The Oklahoma Wildcatters will return to Paycom Center next July for the 2025 PBR Camping World Team Series Homestand, PBR announced on Thursday. Oklahoma’s only professional bull riding team, the Wildcatters will compete in Oklahoma City on July 11-13. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Dec. 3 at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com, at the Paycom Center Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at (800) 732-1727.
BASEBALL: Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale was named the winner of the 2024 Warren Spahn Award winner Thursday as the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Sale, who also earned Cy Young honors in 2024, went 18-3 with a 2.38 earned-run average for the Braves.
—Staff reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State basketball drops Charleston Classic opener vs FAU
