STILLWATER, Okla. – Campbellsville University took the national stage Sunday afternoon and put on possibly its best NCAA Division I exhibition performance in program history, battling close in the end to an 80-70 loss at No. 12 Oklahoma State University. The game, played in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena was televised nationally on FOX College Sports Pacific.

BOX SCORE | QUOTES

It was the second-ever meeting between the two programs and miles ahead of a 2010 trip to Stillwater, which ended in a 102-38 loss. CU's 70 points are the most scored by a Keith Adkins coached team against an NCAA Division I opponent and OSU's 80 are their third lowest in Travis Ford's era against an NAIA opponent.

"We're happy. I think we got out of it exactly what we needed and exactly what we wanted. Hopefully we can take it one more level, and I think we have a chance," Adkins said. "I'm really pleased with the competitive level we played at. I'm pleased with where we are. We had goals going into this. We had things we knew we needed to get accomplished, and we did that.

"I hope that (Oklahoma State) can look at this game and say 'gosh, we have some things to work on,' but at the same time say, 'we got exactly what we wanted and needed out of an exhibition game.' That's what these are for. They bring us in here to prepare themselves for what they've got ahead, and hopefully they got that out of this."

CU started the game with a four-point deficit after Marcus Smart, the preseason national player of the year, slammed down a dunk for a 4-0 lead. But freshman guard Miles Rice of Louisville, Ky., (Trinity HS), answered with a 3 and jumper to make it 5-4 Campbellsville.

It was the Tigers' only lead of the game, but a lead against the No. 12 D1 team in the nation, none the less.

Rice wasn't done, as he went on to lead all teams with four assists, three steals and had 15 points for the Tigers.

"When we recruited him, we thought he had a chance to be special. Like a lot of freshmen, he has some things to work on, but he's competitive, athletic and has a great skill set," Adkins said. "Everything is there for him to be successful, and we expected it, maybe not against an Oklahoma State, but this is what we expect of him."  

Oklahoma responded with a 9-0 to take the lead for good, but Campbellsville worked to keep it within two possessions for most of the opening half. OSU's first double-digit lead came with six minutes to play in the half after Smart rebounded a missed shot by Jordan Myers and assisted a dunk, drained a 3 and assisted another 3 to put the Cowboys up 28-13.

Smart finished the game with only nine points, but added four assists and six rebounds.

"He is a consummate point guard. He's a team guy," Adkins said. "He had an overwhelming impact on the basketball game. I don't know that we held him in check as much as he was trying to get his teammates involved and trying to prepare for what they have going forward."

Once the Cowboys broke into double figures, the Tigers worked to keep the margin below 20, entering halftime down 45-28.

Oklahoma State used an 11-2 run to start the second half to build its largest lead of the afternoon, 56-30. OSU's scoring was scattered, as was its minutes played, with 10 players scoring in the game and eight playing 15-plus minutes. Markel Brown had 13 to lead the Cowboys, while Kamari Mrphy had 11. Michael Cobbins and Stevie Clark added 10 each.

Campbellsville dipped below the 20-point margin four times in the final 12 minutes – twice on fastbreak layups from Eric Gaines and once on a 3-pointer by freshman Quin Richardson of Georgetown, Ky. (Scott Co. HS). The last time came after Smart hit a free throw to make it 77-56 with 3:38 to play.

Campbellsville outscored Oklahoma State 14-3 in the final three minutes. Gaines, Kadeem Thornton and Richardson got the rally started with a basket each. Darius Clement and Demarcus Page each hit 3s in the final minute, Page's with 28 seconds to play, to narrow the final margin to 10 points.

Gaines finished with 17 points to lead both teams, while Clement had 11.

CU's main stay in the rally was senior transfer A'Darius Pegues, who led all players with nine defensive rebounds, 10 total rebounds and added two blocks and nine points.

"We were really pleased with A'Darius and his production today. This is probably the first time in a DI exhibition that we had a threat in the post," Adkins said. "Nestor (Colmenares) played in some of these games, and Nestor was just a basketball player. He wasn't an overwhelming offensive player. In his senior year, he averaged 14 or 15 points with everything he brought to the table. A'Darius is huge and has a nice skill set in the post. The best thing is our defensive rebounding. The fact that he comes out with double figure rebounds and Kadeem Thornton comes out with nine, is a pleasant sight for us."

Campbellsville will continue its exhibition play Saturday, Nov. 2 with another NCAA Division I exhibition at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT/4 p.m. EDT