STILLWATER – Oklahoma State fell to New Mexico 99-89 in the first of three preseason scrimmages.
Freshman Anthony Felesi led the Pokes in scoring off the bench and was second overall with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also had six rebounds and one steal.
Julius Halaifonua was next with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 6-of-7 from the free throw line with four rebounds.
Ben Ahmed and Luka Bogavac had 13 points apiece, while Kashie Natt had 10 points.
But it was New Mexico guard Jake Hall who made the difference in the game as he finished with 31 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor, 6-of-7 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.
As a team, the Cowboys shot 40% from the floor, while the Lobos shot 49%. They shot just 26% from 3-point range, compared to 43% from the Lobos. But the discrepancy came in the number of shots taken. While the Pokes made one more field goal and just two less 3-pointers, the Pokes went 28-of-70 from the floor and 7-of-27 from 3-point range, while the Lobos went 27-of-55 from the floor and 9-of-21 from 3-point range.
Fouls were a big problem for both teams as there was a combined 63 fouls, 33 on the Pokes and 30 on the Lobos, resulting in 82 free throws shot. The Pokes were 26-of-34 from the line, with New Mexico going 36-of-48.
The Cowboys outrebounded the Lobos 45-35, including a 22-11 difference on the offensive end leading to 27 second chance points. But they turned it over 15 times to just 12 on the other end, leading to 18 points for the Lobos to just 11 for the Pokes. They did, however, outscore the Lobos 40-30 in the paint and 59-32 off the bench.
The Pokes are back in action for the second scrimmage of the preseason next Friday, Oct. 23 as they play host to Tulsa.
