Bronchos Get Past SWOSU

1/12/2011 10:56:36 PM

Brent Friday

Box Score

WEATHEFORD, Okla. (Jan. 12) -- It was a struggle from the outset, but No. 15-ranked Central Oklahoma got the job done at the end.

The Bronchos escaped Southwestern Oklahoma's upset bid 68-59 here Wednesday night, outscoring the Bulldogs 13-4 down the stretch to break away from a 55-55 deadlock.

It was the fifth straight win for UCO, which improved to 15-2 in the Lone Star Conference North Division opener for both teams while dropping SWOSU to 9-8. The Bronchos return home Saturday to host Cameron in another LSC North tilt at 7 p.m.

“We just couldn't get anything going and we're fortunate to get out of here with a win,” UCO coach Terry Evans said. “We shot horrible and didn't rebound like we have been, but we did a good job at the end of the game and found a way to win.”

The Bronchos broke a 55-all tie and went ahead to stay on Dauntae Williams' layup with 3:35 remaining and Shane Carroll made it a five-point game (60-55) 40 seconds later when he followed a Bulldog miss with a 3-pointer from the corner.

The teams traded free throws to leave UCO on top 61-56 before Jarrod McDaniel had the dagger, drilling a trey -- only his fifth of the season -- with 1:01 left.

That made it 64-56 and the Bronchos were able to close out the sloppy win.

The Bronchos had little success from outside and the free throw line, shooting just 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from beyond the 3-point arc and a season-low 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the charity stripe.

UCO won this one inside, outscoring the Bulldogs 38-18 in the paint despite getting outrebounded 39-33.

Williams led the way with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, though he was held to less than 23 points for the first time in 10 games. Brent Friday had 14 points and eight boards and Carroll added 13 points.

The Bronchos also got six points and eight rebounds from June Carter, while McDaniel finished with six points and five assists.

UCO appeared in control after taking a nine-point lead (38-29) with 17:01 left to play after Friday's fast-break layup off a McDaniel feed and it was still a seven-point lead at 40-33 with 15:59 to go.

The Bronchos then missed six straight shots and threw the ball away twice during a nearly five-minute span that enabled SWOSU to reel off nine unanswered points to take a 42-40 lead and it was close the rest of the way.

UCO led by as many as 12 in the first half, using a 14-2 run in breaking away from an early 7-7 tie to grab a 21-9 lead as Carroll scored seven points and Williams five.

It was still a 12-point advantage at 23-11 after another Williams layup at the 6:32 mark, but the Bulldogs managed to get within nine (33-24) at the break.

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