On a very light day of action, it was easy for a game like Oklahoma State at Charlotte to stand out, even if only by comparison. Football took center stage, and Charlotte was home to the surprise of the day, as much from how the game finished as the actual result.
Oklahoma State looked to be in good shape in this one, leading by 24 points with less than 13 minutes to play. They were basically in command all that time. Charlotte committed 18 turnovers in the first 30 minutes of play, finishing with 22 for the game.
But with that 24-point differential, Charlotte would then run off six unanswered points to begin a 28-4 run that would tie the game at 56 with over a minute to play. They would not go on top, which could easily make you wonder if they ran out of gas in the comeback. Two free throws by Cameron McGriff (17 points) with 6.7 seconds left made it 64-61 Cowboys.
Then the Cowboys tried to do what so many people say to do – foul. They tried to foul Jon Davis before a shot, and they did – but officials called a flagrant foul on Oklahoma State’s Lindy Waters. When Davis hit both free throws, the 49ers had a chance to win and without a three-pointer.
Davis got the ball from the side coming off a screen, and hit a 25-foot shot off the glass to give Ron Sanchez, one of the real good guys in the business, his first win as head coach at Charlotte, a 66-64 shocker. He finished with a game-high 27 points.
Oklahoma State missed 11 of its last 12 shots from the field, so they went cold and Charlotte played better defense late. It all added up to a shocking finish.
Saturday was light on heavy-hitting matchups, but had a few good ones. The one in Charlotte stands out because it had quite an ending.
Side Dishes
It wasn’t a great night for a couple of Mountain West home teams that were opening their season. Idaho State rallied from an 18-point deficit and got two free throws after a foul as time expired to beat Boise State 72-70, while Loyola Marymount got 27 points from James Batemon to beat UNLV 61-50. Boise State had won 15 straight home openers.
One of the best individual performances of the day came in Eastern Kentucky‘s 81-78 win over Chattanooga. Nick Mayo had 40 points and 12 rebounds, highlighted by a personal 13-0 run that took the Colonels from being down by 11 to up 67-65. Not to be outdone by much, Martaveous McKnight had 41 points in a losing effort for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who went down 92-67 at Colorado State. Xavier junior Tyrique Jones had 19 points and 20 rebounds in their 91-85 win over Evansville. Eli Pepper had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Lipscomb in an 86-79 win over Tennessee State.
Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine were slated to play on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to wildfires affecting the Pepperdine campus in Malibu Beach. The fires have resulted in deaths and significant property destruction not far from the campus. A makeup date has not been set as of yet.
Tonight’s Menu
- Mike Krzyzewski will coach against his alma mater as Army visits Duke (1 p.m.)
- A game to keep an eye on is East Tennessee State visiting Creighton (1:30 pm.)
- Virginia gets a home test from George Washington (2 p.m.)
- A nice mid-major matchup is Marshall hosting Hofstra (2:30 p.m.)
- Mississippi State hosts America East contender Hartford (5 p.m.)
- Florida Gulf Coast heads north for good matchup at Michigan State (6 p.m.)
- Two teams have their season opener, and both are at home: Tulane hosts Florida State and Washington State hosts Nicholls, both at 7 p.m.
- In a return game from last year, USC hosts Vanderbilt (9 p.m.)
