CHARLESTON, S.C. — Bryce Thompson scored 17 points, Marchelus Avery had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Oklahoma State beat Miami 80-74 on Friday in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Classic.
Oklahoma State (4-1) will play in the fifth-place game on Sunday, while Miami (3-2) will try to avoid going winless in the tournament.
Oklahoma State led 43-27 at halftime after making 8 of 15 from 3-point range, while Miami was just 8 of 27 overall. Four different Cowboys made a 3-pointer in the first half, with Brandon Newman making three.
Thompson banked in a shot early in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 20-point lead at 49-29. Miami, which opened the game by missing 7 of 8 shots, went 1 for 8 from the field to begin the second half.
Miami trailed by double figures the entire second half until Matthew Cleveland made a difficult shot in the lane while being fouled. He made the free throw to pull the Hurricanes within 75-67 with 49 seconds left. Arturo Dean restored a double-digit lead by making two free throws at 43.8.
Thompson reached the 1,000 career points with the Cowboys on a shot in the lane with 13:01 left in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 55-38 lead.
Nijel Pack scored 20 points and Brandon Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Miami. Cleveland finished with 11 points, and Lynn Kidd and Paul Djobet each had 10.
OU women start 5-0
LAS VEGAS — Senior Skyar Vann scored 15 points and her sister, freshman Zya Vann, added 14 to lead No. 9 Oklahoma to an 88-58 win over UNLV on Friday night.
Raegan Beers scored 10 points for the Sooners, who improved to 5-0.
Skyar Vann shot 3 for 6 from 3-point range and Oklahoma hit 41.4% (12 of 29) behind the arc.
Kiera Jackson scored 20 points for UNLV (4-2) and Mikinna Brackens added 12.
Takeaways
Oklahoma: The Sooners limited the Rebels to two field goals in the third quarter and extended a one-point halftime lead to 67-42. In the third quarter, the Rebels shot 2 of 16 with four turnovers.
UNLV: The Rebels kept the game close in the first half behind 43.8% 3-point shooting, including two each from Jackson and Brackens. Jackson and Brackens each had 10 points in the first half.
Key moment
The Sooners scored the first 16 points coming out of the halftime break after leading 39-38 at the intermission. Beers, who leads the team with 21.3 points per game, scored the first two baskets after making only one shot in the first half. The Rebels ended the drought on Jackson’s layup with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Key stat
Oklahoma has beaten all four of its opponents by more than 30 points, but needed to outscore the Rebels by 29 in the second half to keep the streak alive. UNLV missed a free throw and a 3-pointer in the final minute.
Up next
The Sooners will stay in the Las Vegas Valley to play DePaul on Monday in the Ball Dawgs Classic. UNLV will host UCF on Wednesday.
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