Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Oklahoma State
Owls Fall in Walters' Debut
11/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2006
STILLWATER, OK (November 11, 2006) -- Paul Graham III scored 14 points and Carlos Monroe added 11 points and four rebounds but it wasn't enough as the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team fell to Oklahoma State University 95-50 in the team's 2006-07 season opener on Friday in Stillwater, OK.
Brent Crews led FAU in rebounding with six, while the Cowboys had five players score double figures, led by Terrel Harris and Mario Boggan with 17. David Monds led OSU in rebounds with eight.
Head Coach Rex Walters thought the Owls played well in the early going of his head coaching debut, but felt like the Cowboys just wore his team down.
"They're a big, physical team and they're used to playing that way," Walters said. "They were far more physical than any team we faced last season."
The Cowboys held a slim 12-11 edge in rebounding at the break, but stretched the advantage to 34-22 by game's end.
The Owls shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half, but allowed the Cowboys to shoot over 70 percent and trailed 48-28 at the break. The Cowboys would go on a 22-4 run to start the second half to put the game out of reach.
"It was a good experience for us in this environment," Walters said. "Our guys will take it and learn from it. We want to be at this level some day, but it's not going to happen overnight."
Jeff Parmer and Sean Alarcon were in the starting lineup for their Florida Atlantic debut. Each had five points and made one three-point attempt.
Seydou Kone also made his FAU debut, going 0-for-2 from the floor with one rebound in 10 minutes.
David Anderson went 1-for-2 for two points and grabbed a pair of rebounds, and Derrick Simmons came off the bench to contribute a 3-for-5 night, scoring eight points and grabbing four rebounds.
In addition to the rebounding advantage, OSU used a 14-for-26 night from behind the arc to pad its lead.
Florida Atlantic (0-1) will now travel to Kansas City, MO to face the UMKC Kangaroos. It will be the first match-up between the two programs and first of a home-at-home series this season.
