Bryce Thompson Tops 1,000, But Is It A Celebration?
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State’s Bryce Thompson celebrated a milestone every college basketball player hopes to someday. In this city loaded with so much Southern charm, Thompson loaded the basketball enough to reach 1,000-points in his career. He came into the Shriner’s Children Charleston Classic with his Cowboy teammates unbeaten at 3-0 and needing just 18 points to get to 1,000. He got eight of those on Thursday, but all from the free throw line. His eight made free throws part of a total of 81 free throws shot in the 86-78 loss to Florida Atlantic. Thompson and his teammates didn’t play smart and didn’t shoot well in losing to the Owls and moving to the left side of the bracket against the team favored to maybe win the entire event in Miami, Fla.
Hey, tournaments just mean another opportunity. The ills of Thursday turned around and became the ingredients on Friday for a badly needed rebound effort. Thompson got his 1,000 point in the second half on a tough inside basket coming in crowded phone booth conditions in the paint. That basket and more contributions by Thompson helped make it a celebratory day for him and for the Cowboys as they knocked off Miami 80-74. After a deserved day off, sort of a day off, the Cowboys will play either Nevada or VCU in their final game at Charleston on Sunday at 3 p.m.
“I feel blessed,” Thompson told John Holcomb of the Cowboys Radio Network. “I feel blessed and thankful to be playing with this team and in a great city like Stillwater. We dropped a tough game on Thursday and we went back and watched film. We watched film on Miami and 24 hours later we come back with a good win.”
Oklahoma State led the entire game as they copied just what Drake did on Thursday to the Hurricanes in sending them to left side (consolation) of the tournament bracket. Oklahoma State had all the foul trouble on Thursday and they shot the ball poorly hitting just 34 percent from the field and a paltry 6-of-26 from three-point range.
In the first half on Friday, Abou Ousmane, who fouled out with seven points in the loss to FAU, scored he first six points as Oklahoma State jumped out 9-0. Now, Ousmane gathered two fouls and wound up sitting again on Friday. However, the shooting was much better, 47 percent from the field and 45 percent from three point range. That included Thompson hitting two in the first half, Chi Chi Avery hitting two, and Brandon Newman going three for four as the Pokes were 8-of-15 from the three the first half and led 43-27.
“It helps to see one go in early,” Thompson said.
In the second half besides that crowded phone booth bucket, he dove on the floor for what was a defensive highlight and hustle play that turned into an Avery lay in on the offensive end.
“He had that flurry for us in the first half and then Bryce did a good job and steadied the ship for us a lot in the second half,” head coach Steve Lutz told Holcomb after the game.
Thompson picked off an errant Miami pass and drove all the way to the basket to make it 65-48 OSU. Late in the contest he hit two free throws after a miss. A lane violation by Miami gave him the second chance that he made good on. Those free throws made it 79-70 with 42 seconds left.
The Cowboys closed it out and Thompson, now the 45th all-time player to top 1,000-points at Oklahoma State can properly and happily celebrate that milestone with his teammates and like a really good meal, maybe some of those shrimp and grits they talk about so much in Charleston.