WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Bretson McNeal (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle HS (North Dakota State Science)) opened the season and his Midwestern State career in a big way, splashing in 23 points helping defeat the Oklahoma City Stars 112-82 on Saturday night.
 
McNeal, the 6'2" junior guard from Minneapolis, was in mid-season form draining 7-of-9 from beyond the arc as well as going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Returning forward Abiodun Adegoke (Buford, Ga. / Mill Creek HS (Western Texas)) impressed with 20 points in the exhibition.
 
"Abiodun put in a lot of work over the summer. He is at a different maturity level right now, and that consistency of hard work has paid off," MSU head coach Nelson Haggerty said. 
 
The Mustangs raced to an early 31-13 lead over the Stars after the first ten minutes, but OKC battled back to within eight at the half and even took a one point lead with 16:45 to play in the second half.
 
"We had a big lead early, then we lost a little intensity. You have to give OKC credit, they scrapped hard and never stopped," Haggerty said. "We turned up the defense in the second half and that helped extend our scoring opportunities."
 
MSU relied on their depth and hot shooting to pull away from Oklahoma City. The Mustangs shot a blistering 63.2 percent from the field in the second half, and 54.7 percent for the game. The Stars were not as efficient, shooting 40.4 percent for the contest.
 
Midwestern State saw four players break into double digits in scoring, led by Bretson McNeal's 23. The Stars had five players in double digits, paced by guard Terence Bonhomme scoring 18.
 
Rebounding was well in favor of the Mustangs as MSU grabbed 57 boards to OKC's 24. Adegoke led MSU with 8 rebounds.
 
The Mustangs play next on November 14-15 at the CSU-Pueblo Al Kaly Shrine Classic in Pueblo, Colorado. MSU returns home on Wednesday, Nov. 19 to play Science and Arts (Okla.).