OSU Basketball: Cowboys Beat SMU 89-78 in Charity Exhibition

The Cowboys started the Steve Lutz era by putting the nets to work in an exhibition win against SMU.

Oklahoma State bested the Mustangs 89-78 on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena in a charity scrimmage that benefitted the American Heart Association. It’s hard to draw too much from an exhibition result, but with how new this team is (10 new scholarship players), there were things to learn.

The Cowboys were hot from 3, finishing 14-for-28 (50%) from behind the arc. The Pokes were particularly hot in the first half, going 10-for-16 (63%) from 3-point range. Bryce Thompson, Marchelus Avery and Jamyron Keller all hit multiple 3-pointers, while Khalil Brantley, Arturo Dean, Brandon Newman and Connor Dow also got in on the 3-point party with one make each.

Thompson was a scoring machine entering his final season of college basketball. The former Booker T. Hornet finished with 24 points, going 9-for-12 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from 3. He did all that in just 18 minutes on the floor. This being an exhibition, the stats don’t officially count, but that was the most 3s without a miss Thompson has had in a game in his career.

Avery, nicknamed Chi Chi, also showed what sort of weapon he could be. He’s a 6-foot-8, 210-pound fifth-year player who transferred from UCF this offseason. Against SMU, Avery scored 14 points to go with five rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point range.

With all the new faces, it was tough to predict a starting lineup, but Lutz went with Thompson, Davonte Davis, Brantley, Robert Jennings II and About Ousmane. That group combined for 51 of the Cowboys’ points, with the bench supplying the other 38.

The Cowboys have some questions in the frontcourt, which puts a lot on Ousmane’s shoulders. A 6-foot-10, 245-pound Xavier transfer, Ousmane had eight points, a team-high eight rebounds and three blocks against SMU. All eight of his points came from the foul line, where Ousmane was 8-for-10. He was also a team-best +23, meaning OSU was 23 points better than SMU when Ousmane was in the game.

Brantley, a transfer from La Salle, stuffed the stat sheet. He scored eight points but also had four rebounds and a team-high five assists.

That’s it for the Cowboys’ preseason action. They’ll officially start the season Nov. 4 when Doug Gottlieb and Green Bay visit Gallagher-Iba Arena for a Monday night game that is set to tip at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.