Oklahoma State Shocks No. 16 BYU Behind Anthony Roy’s 30-Point Night and a Statement Win in Stillwater
STILLWATER - When Anthony Roy drilled a deep three with just over four minutes left and BYU called timeout, the Oklahoma State forward didn’t just celebrate - he practically bounced off every teammate in sight. The moment felt electric, and for good reason: the Cowboys had just pushed their lead to 12, and the building knew what was coming.
Then came the exclamation point - students and fans storming the court after Oklahoma State outgunned No. 16 BYU 99-92 in a win that didn’t just feel big. It was big.
“That was my first one,” Roy said of the court storming. “I hope it’s not the last.”
If he keeps playing like this, it won’t be.
Roy was sensational, pouring in a team-high 30 points on 5-of-10 shooting from deep. And this wasn’t some out-of-nowhere performance - BYU head coach Kevin Young had already circled Roy on the scouting report.
“Roy, no doubt, he’s a big-time player,” Young said. “Great body, super aggressive, deep range.
Always got to know where he’s at. That was a great recruitment by Steve and their coaching staff.
He’s really, really impressive.”
Roy was the headliner, but this was no solo act. Oklahoma State got double-digit scoring from five other players, showing off the kind of balance that turns good nights into great ones.
Jaylen Curry added 18, Vyctorious Miller chipped in 14, Parsa Fallah gave them 13, and Christian Coleman added 10. When you’ve got that many guys contributing, you’re a tough out - especially at home.
The stat that told the story? Turnovers.
Oklahoma State was sharp with the ball, coughing it up just eight times. BYU, on the other hand, gave it away 16 times, and the Cowboys made them pay - turning those miscues into 21 points.
That 21-8 edge in points off turnovers was the kind of margin that flips a close game into a statement win.
“We’ve shown flashes of being a good team,” Roy said. “And I think we just got to find a way to put it together for a full 40 minutes. So I feel like this definitely could be a turning point for us, and if we keep playing the way we did tonight, we going to have a good season.”
BYU tried to mount a late comeback. Down 88-77 with just over two minutes to go, the Cougars hit a quick three out of a timeout.
But Roy calmly knocked down both free throws on the next possession, and Fallah came up with a big defensive rebound to keep the Cowboys in control. The Cougars never got back within striking distance.
There was more good news for Oklahoma State even before tipoff - Lefteris Mantzoukas returned to the floor for the first time since Dec. 13. He’d started six of the nine games he played before going down, and while his numbers (4.8 rebounds, 5.6 points per game) don’t jump off the page, his presence adds depth and toughness to the rotation.
Oklahoma State led for most of the night and even built a 15-point cushion in the first half before BYU came roaring back with a 29-8 run that stretched across the final five and a half minutes of the first half and into the early stages of the second. The Cougars briefly took a five-point lead, but the Cowboys responded - and this time, they didn’t let go.
Even in defeat, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa reminded everyone why he’s one of the most talked-about prospects in the country. The 6-foot-8 wing, who came in averaging 23.3 points per game, exploded for 36 - a performance that only adds fuel to the fire for his top-three NBA Draft projections.
“It’s not often you get to play somebody who’s a projected number one, number two pick in the draft,” Roy said. “That’s the aspiration for all of us.
We all want to play in the NBA. So he’s super talented, and I feel like we all looked at this game as an opportunity to show that we could play in the NBA too.
That was huge. And I got a lot of respect for all them dudes on that team, and him, included.”
For BYU, the loss stings - it’s their fifth of the season and fourth in conference play. And while the Cougars have faced a brutal stretch - with close losses to No.
1 Arizona, No. 11 Kansas, and No.
13 Texas Tech - this one came against an unranked but hungry Oklahoma State team that flat-out outplayed them.
“It sucks to lose,” Young said. “It sucks to lose to the No. 1 team in the country by two.
It sucks to lay an egg at Kansas and then pull your way back in at their place and lose. It sucks to be up by nine at Texas Tech with nine minutes to go and lose the game.
It sucks to come here against a gritty team and drop one on the road.”
For Oklahoma State, though, this win could be a pivot point. It’s the Cowboys’ first Quad 1 victory of the season - a major boost to their NCAA Tournament resume.
Coming into the night, they were 1-4 in Quad 1 games, 6-2 against Quad 2, and unbeaten against lower-tier opponents. But that missing piece - a signature win - just fell into place.
“If you want to put yourself in the mix, you got to win those (Quad 1) games,” head coach Steve Lutz said. “Because that is what the selection committee is going to look at.
… We’ve already surpassed our wins from last year and we weren’t in the hunt for going to the NCAA Tournament last year and we’re relevant in that hunt. Now we’ve got to finish it off.”
There’s still work to do. But on a night when the lights were bright and the opponent was ranked, Oklahoma State delivered. And as the confetti of court-storming footsteps settled, the Cowboys looked very much like a team that’s not done making noise.