Bronchos Give Cowboys A Run

11/7/2009 10:41:42 PM

Eric Cazenave

Game Statistics

STILLWATER, Okla. (Nov. 7) – Central Oklahoma forced 27 turnovers, but suffered through a poor shooting night from 3-point range in dropping a hard-fought 89-80 exhibition decision to Oklahoma State Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

It was the second game in three nights against a Big 12 Conference foe for the Bronchos, who fell to Baylor 86-71 Thursday in Waco, Texas, and once again UCO battled to the end.

The No. 17-ranked Bronchos led 8-4 early in the contest, trailed just 39-34 at halftime and trimmed an 18-point second-half deficit to seven down the stretch before finally succumbing.

UCO shot just 22.9 percent (8-of-35) from beyond the arc, including a mere 18.8 percent (3-of-16) in the second half. But the Bronchos had 11 steals in forcing the Cowboys into 27 miscues, which helped offset OSU's huge 53-31 rebounding advantage.

“I'm really proud of the way our guys played and how hard they played,” UCO coach Terry Evans said. “We take pride in playing harder than any of our opponents, including teams from the Big 12. We just weren't quite as good as Oklahoma State tonight, but we did force them into a lot of turnovers.

“We were in a position to win the game if we made any type of shots.”

Chris Rhymes led the Bronchos, hitting 8-of-14 shots in scoring 20 points. Dauntae Williams added 18 points, while Eric Cazenave had 14 and Tyler Phillips 11.

Rhymes scored five points in the first four minutes as UCO took a quick 8-4 lead and it was tied at 21-21 with 8:08 left in the half after a 3-pointer by Cazenave.

OSU then went on a 16-0 run to seize a 37-21 lead and appeared on the verge of blowing the Bronchos out, but UCO rallied and scored the final seven points of the half to get within five (39-34) by intermission.

The Cowboys came out quickly in the second half, opening up a 15-point lead at 52-37 and expanding that to 18 (71-53) with 6:53 left to play.

UCO didn't go quietly, however, crawling back into the contest and making it a seven-point game at 81-74 with 1:08 remaining. OSU sealed the win at the line, hitting 8-of-9 free throws the rest of the way to keep the Bronchos at bay.

UCO plays its final exhibition Thursday when they host NAIA power Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. and then opens the season for real on Nov. 16 at home against Emporia State.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories