National Basketball Association
Oklahoma State 71, Florida State 70
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 16, 2017
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Florida
Officials:
# Keith Kimble, # Jeb Hartness, # Jeff Clark
Attendance:
N/A
By The Sports Xchange
SUNRISE, Fla. -- A player veering a little bit too far to the right and the fickle bounces of a basketball -- that's what sunk the Florida State Seminoles' winning streak on Saturday.
The 19th-ranked Seminoles, who had been one of five undefeated teams left in the nation, were upset by Oklahoma State 71-70 in the Orange Bowl Classic at the BB&T Center.
Mitchell Solomon, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound junior forward, produced 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals for the Cowboys.
"Mitch is our MVP. He doesn't score a lot of points, and he doesn't get a lot of praise or press," Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. "But he makes every right play."
Solomon saved his best plays for the game's final six seconds.
After a 17-7 second-half run had given the Cowboys (8-2) the lead, Florida State went up by one point on a put-back by Terance Mann with 10 seconds left. But Oklahoma State grabbed the lead back on a put-back by Solomon with 5.4 seconds left.
"We had two or three opportunities (to grab the defensive rebound," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "The ball was bouncing all over the place.
"Their guy (Solomon) did a great job. He was wedged in there. He just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. Had the ball come off on the other side, our guy was standing there."
After that put-back, Florida State still had one more chance as sophomore guard CJ Walker tried to dribble the length of the court for a layup.
Unfortunately for the Seminoles (9-1), Solomon stepped up in the lane and drew the charge, effectively ending the game.
"We played solid man defense, and I was able to draw the charge," said Solomon, who battled back and knee stiffness. "I think (OSU's Tavarius) Shine funneled his man (Walker) right to me."
Before the final six seconds, Oklahoma State's hero was shooting guard Jeffrey Carroll, who scored 23 points in his first start of the season. His second-half 3-pointer put him over 1,000 career points, just the 41st OSU player to reach that milestone.
"It's good -- I love it," Carroll said of the milestone. "It just shows I've had great coaches in my career."
FSU, which would've tied the best record in school history with a win, was led by Phil Cofer, who scored 22 points and tied his career high with five 3-pointers on seven tries.
The Seminoles also got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Mann and 12 points from Mifiondu Kabengele.
The game marked the Oklahoma State debut for 6-11 junior center Yankuba Sima, a transfer from St. John's who produced five points and three rebounds off the bench.
Both of the Cowboys' losses this season came against teams currently ranked in the top 10: No. 3 Wichita State and No. 9 Texas A&M. Saturday's win snapped Oklahoma State's seven-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
FSU led 38-34 at halftime thanks to 14 points by Cofer, who made 4 of 5 3-pointers.
But the Cowboys kept Cofer in check in the second half, limiting him to eight points and just one 3-pointer.
In the meantime, Oklahoma State heated up from 3-point range, making twice as many deep shots in the second half (from 3 of 12 to 6 of 16).
That improved accuracy helped the Cowboys rally and set things up for that last dramatic charge-foul call that went in OKlahoma State's favor.
"Had (Walker) gone just a little bit to the left, he would have gotten fouled, and he would've made the layup, I think," Hamilton said. "We had a great opportunity."
NOTES: This was Oklahoma State's first game since the dismissal of freshman PG Zach Dawson and junior SG Davon Dillard. This was supposed to be a homecoming for Dawson, a Miami native and OSU's top freshman for the Class of 2017. ... This was just the second meeting between Oklahoma State and Florida State and the first since the Cowboys beat the Seminoles in 1964. ... Oklahoma State gave FSU's Leonard Hamilton his start as a head coach in 1986. Current Kansas coach Bill Self was on Hamilton's staff at OSU.
Top Game Performances
| Oklahoma State |
|
Florida State |
|
Jeffrey Carroll 23 |
Scoring |
Phil Cofer 22 |
|
Kendall Smith 6 |
Assists |
Trent Forrest 6 |
|
Mitchell Solomon 11 |
Rebounds |
Terance Mann 14 |
|
Jeffrey Carroll 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Braian Angola 4 |
|
Tavarius Shine 2 |
Steals |
Phil Cofer 3 |
|
Mitchell Solomon 3 |
Blocks |
Mfiondu Kabengele 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Oklahoma State
|
71 |
38.6 |
9-28 |
8-10 |
17 |
33 |
3 |
10 |
17 |
| Florida State
|
70 |
41.4 |
6-15 |
16-24 |
12 |
39 |
7 |
10 |
22 |
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