Game Statistics
ABILENE, Texas (Dec. 19) -- Abilene Christian used a game-ending 9-2 scoring run to hand Central Oklahoma a disappointing 81-80 Lone Star Conference crossover setback here Saturday afternoon.
The Bronchos overcame an eight-point first-half deficit to lead by as many as 13 in the second half and were up 78-72 with 2:25 left before ACU rallied with its last-minute scoring spree, pulling out the win on Jamie Meyer's layup with 4.1 seconds remaining.
UCO, playing its seventh consecutive game on the road and in action for the first time since Dec. 3, fell to 4-3 on the season heading into Monday's game at Angelo State. The Wildcats won their fifth straight in improving to 7-3.
“We did a great job defensively to start the second half and got a good lead, but then we had a letup and you can't do that on the road against a good team,” UCO coach Guy Hardaker said. “We didn't make the plays we needed to at the end and it cost us.”
Kasey Tweed made two free throws with 2:48 left to play to give the Bronchos a 78-72 lead, but UCO missed its next three shots and the Wildcats scored seven straight points to go on top 79-78 with 21 seconds to go.
Cristina Yarbrough hit a driving layup at 0:14 to give UCO an 80-79 lead, then Jamie Meyer drove the baseline for the go-ahead bucket with 4.1 seconds left. ACU missed two free throws with 2.2 ticks remaining after the Bronchos turned the ball over on the inbounds play, but Ashley Beckley couldn't get off a half-court shot before the buzzer sounded.
Jordan Stark scored 18 points to lead UCO, while Beckley finished with 17, Rose Anderson 14 and Courtney Allen 10. Jody Meyer had 24 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Wildcats.
Yarbrough scored five points in a 7-0 run to open the second half that turned a 40-39 deficit into a 46-40 lead and the Bronchos went up 51-42 on a Stark 3-pointer just three minutes in. Yarbrough had a steal and layup followed by a Beckley layup to push UCO's lead to 13 at 58-45 with 12:15 left.
ACU responded with an 11-2 spurt to make it 60-56 at the 10-minute mark and it was close the rest of the way before the Wildcats prevailed with their late run.
The game went back-and-forth in the opening minutes before ACU surged in front by eight (25-17) with 8:20 left in the half, but the Bronchos answered back with 10 unanswered points to regain the lead.
Anderson started that spurt with a driving layup, Stark drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key, Savannah Hamilton had a fast-break layup off a Stark steal and Alyssa Fuxa rattled in a trey to put UCO on top 27-25 with 6:08 remaining.
The Wildcats came right back with a 5-0 run to go ahead 30-27 and had a five-point lead at 38-33 before UCO got within 40-39 at intermission on Allen's layup with 28 seconds left.
