National Basketball Association
Oklahoma State 80, Florida Gulf Coast 68
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Officials:
# Rodrick Dixon, # Chance Moore, # Kerby Sitton
Attendance:
5305
By Field Level Media
Jeffrey Carroll finished with 18 points, and second-seeded Oklahoma State cruised to an 80-68 win over seventh-seeded Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
Oklahoma State (20-14) advanced to play the winner of Wednesday's game between third-seeded Stanford and sixth-seeded BYU. The Cowboys will host the second-round matchup.
Florida Gulf Coast (23-12) finished its season with 20-plus victories for the sixth year in a row. The Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the previous two seasons before losing in the first round.
Mitchell Solomon scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Oklahoma State to barely miss out on a double-double performance. Tavarius Shine scored 13 points off the bench, and Lindy Waters III contributed 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
Florida Gulf Coast guard Zach Johnson finished with 23 points to lead all scorers. Guard Brandon Goodwin added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Eagles pulled within seven points with 4:17 to play after a 3-pointer by Dinero Mercurius. The Cowboys weathered the storm with an 8-2 run that re-established a double-digit lead in the final three minutes.
Entering the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State led 60-43. The Cowboys closed the third quarter on an 8-1 run thanks in large part to a layup and four free throws by Shine off the bench.
Oklahoma State led 37-26 at halftime despite shooting only 33.3 percent (11 of 33). The Cowboys capitalized on 10 points from Waters III, who hit four of five shots before the break, including two of three from distance.
The Eagles ended the first half with a spectacular buzzer-beater.
Florida Gulf Coast forward RaySean Scott Jr. lined up to make an inbounds pass from underneath his team's basket with 2.3 seconds left in the half. He fired a strike to Goodwin, who took one dribble before squaring up for a jump shot from just inside the halfcourt line. The shot swished through the net as time expired.
Oklahoma State made 32 free throws in the game, compared with 12 free throws made by Florida Gulf Coast.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Florida Gulf Coast |
|
Oklahoma State |
|
Zach Johnson 23 |
Scoring |
Jeffrey Carroll 18 |
|
Brandon Goodwin 5 |
Assists |
Kendall Smith 4 |
|
Michael Gilmore 7 |
Rebounds |
Mitchell Solomon 9 |
|
Zach Johnson 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Jeffrey Carroll 12 |
|
Zach Johnson 2 |
Steals |
Jeffrey Carroll 3 |
|
Michael Gilmore 2 |
Blocks |
Tavarius Shine 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Florida Gulf Coast
|
68 |
38.3 |
10-27 |
12-18 |
11 |
31 |
2 |
8 |
18 |
| Oklahoma State
|
80 |
35.6 |
6-22 |
32-41 |
12 |
44 |
2 |
8 |
14 |
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