CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston's Jaylen McManus recorded a career-and team-high 18 points in a 73-54 loss to Oklahoma State on Wednesday night before a crowd of 5,005 at TD Arena.

McManus hit a 3-pointer to end a 15-0 run by the Cowboys (3-0) in the second half. He drained two 3-pointers, a spot on the court where the Cougars (2-1) couldn't find their rhythm going 5-for-27 from long range. However, CofC took advantage of its free throws going 15-of-16 behind McManus' 4-for-4 performance.

Joining him in double figures was Grant Riller, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, where Charleston led by as many as nine points.

The Cowboys would cut that lead and go into the locker room tied at 30-30 at halftime.

Thomas Dziagwa shot 7-of-10 from beyond the arc leading the OSU charge in the second half of play. He notched a career-and game-high 21 points followed by 16 from Lindy Waters III and 12 from Isaac Likekele.

It was a first-time meeting in the series between the Cougars and Cowboys on Charleston's home court, where the program has won 30 of its last 33 home games.

The Cougars will play their next five games on the road with its first away game at Marshall on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. (ET) in Huntington, W.Va.
 
POSTGAME NOTES
• For the third-straight game, College of Charleston went with the starting five of Zep Jasper, Grant Riller, Brevin Galloway, Jaylen McManus and Osinachi Smart (2-1).
• Oklahoma State improved to 3-1 in the all-time series with CofC. The Cowboys have now won back-to-back games in the series. Both teams will conclude the 2-for-1 series next season in Stillwater.
• Grant Riller turned in 16 points with a season-high eight assists against Oklahoma State. He has now tabulated 1,861 career points to date and extended his double-digit scoring streak to 31-consecutive games.
• For the first time of his career, Jaylen McManus led the team in scoring with career-high 18 points in 34 minutes of action against Oklahoma State. It marked his seventh career game in double figures.
• Osinachi Smart brought down a team-high and season-high tying seven rebounds including three on the offensive glass versus the Cowboys.
• The Cougars had a season-high 5,005 fans in attendance for the nationally-televised game on CBS Sports Network, which was the 18th all-time largest crowd in program history at TD Arena.
 
POSTGAME QUOTES
College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant
On the game …
"Our guys were ready to play. It was a 20-minute game. Obviously, we played pretty well. The first 13 and 14 minutes in the first half, we did a really good job of following the game plan. In the last three or four minutes in the half, it got away from us. They made shots and we didn't. The pressure bothered us. Give Oklahoma State credit. One guy (Thomas Dziagwa) made seven threes. That was a big factor in the game. We just have to go watch and see what we could do better. We were a bit uncharacteristic in the second half. Not being able to execute in certain situations. I have to do a better job of getting us ready for those situations."

College of Charleston Senior Guard Grant Riller
On a hard-fought first half and Oklahoma State getting hot in the second half …
"A lot of it was on us. You have to give credit to them (Oklahoma State). They caught fire in the second half and we stayed cold. When you have a balance like that, usually it won't be pretty. We will watch the film, see what we did wrong and learn from it."

On the play of Jaylen McManus ...
"It might seem new to y'all, but we knew this for four years. He is a sleeping giant and his opportunity finally came this year. I know he is going to show a lot of people what kind of basketball player he is. We are lucky to have him and he had a great game tonight. Unfortunately, we came up short."
 
College of Charleston Senior Forward Jaylen McManus
On the loss …
"I pretty much came into the game knowing that I would have to take a lot of threes. I knew they would flood the paint with (guarding Grant Riller). I just let the game come to me. The ball found me and I took the shots."