Oklahoma State’s offense finally came to life after halftime, but Wisconsin had already stacked up too much damage from deep in an 82-65 exhibition win Tuesday night at the Kohl Center.
The Cowboys got a strong all-around showing from Julius Halaifonua, who led the way with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He also knocked down a three-pointer and was perfect at the line, going 5-for-5 from the stripe.
Freshman Anthony Felesi added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while Kashie Natt chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Jacob Walker finished with 12 points, all of them coming in the second half, and also led OSU with four assists.
Wisconsin’s perimeter shooting was the difference. The Badgers buried 18 three-pointers at a 43.9% clip, outscoring Oklahoma State 54-15 from beyond the arc.
Owen Foxwell set the pace with 19 points, 16 of them in the first half, and Eian Elmer added 11. Nolan Winter, Braeden Carrington and Austin Rapp each scored 10.
The home team never let the Cowboys get in front, drilling eight first-half threes to build a 40-26 lead at the break. Oklahoma State had a rough opening 20 minutes, hitting just 9 of 32 shots overall and going 5 of 24 from three for the game. The Cowboys also turned it over 22 times.
That said, the second half looked much more like the Cowboys wanted it to. OSU shot 56.5% after halftime, made 13 of 23 attempts and outscored Wisconsin 39-42 over the final 20 minutes. They also fought on the glass, finishing with a 38-36 rebounding edge, and scored 24 points in the paint to Wisconsin’s 12.
Still, the big swing came from the Badgers’ bench, which produced 39 points compared to 14 for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys trimmed the margin with a 7-0 run after trailing by 15 midway through the second half. Jordan Burks started it with a layup in his first preseason appearance after missing OSU’s first two exhibitions with an injury, then Felesi scored and Walker drilled a three-pointer to make it 65-57 with 7:19 left.
Wisconsin answered right back with a three from Carrington and kept Oklahoma State at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Burks finished with two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes. OSU played without Luka Bogavac for the second straight game, while Parsa Fallah and Mekhi Ragland have not yet appeared in preseason action as they recover from injuries.
The Cowboys wrapped up their three-game exhibition schedule at 1-2.
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