UCO Edges Stars In Exhibition

11/8/2012 9:12:00 PM

Josh Davis

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 8) – Josh Davis made two clutch free throws with seven seconds remaining to secure Central Oklahoma's 81-77 exhibition win over Oklahoma City Thursday night at Abe Lemons Arena.

The Bronchos, playing their second exhibition in two nights, never trailed but had to survive plenty of tense minutes down the stretch before Davis clinched the tough win.

“We made a lot of mistakes, but we played pretty well for stretches and came out with a good win,” said head coach Terry Evans, whose team opens the season at home next Thursday against Southwestern Christian. “I think we've learned a lot the last two nights and we're ready to get the season started.”

UCO used a 7-0 run to snap a 67-67 tie and go up 74-67 on Spencer Smith's follow shot with 3:08 remaining and it was still a seven-point lead at 77-70 when Josh Gibbs drained a 3-pointer from the wing at the 2:07 mark.

Gibbs canned two free throws with 47 seconds left to give the Bronchos a 79-74 lead, then OCU hit a 3-pointer at 0:37 to pull within 79-77. An intentional foul gave UCO two foul shots and the ball, but the Bronchos missed both charity tosses and then turned the ball over to give the Stars a chance.

Charlton Jones' long 3-point try at 0:08 was off the mark and Davis was there to corral the rebound before being fouled. The senior stepped up and calmly swished both free throws to make it 81-77 and seal the verdict.

Gibbs led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 6-of-10 shots and all seven free throw tries. Davis was 7-of-8 from the line in a 14-pont outing, while Smith had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

June Carter and Jamell Cormier added 12 points apiece for the Bronchos, who ended up shooting 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field for the game.

Carter hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 12 seconds into the contest to give the Bronchos a lead they would never relinquish and it was a 15-4 advantage after five minutes as Carter and Gibbs had five points apiece.

It was still a double-digit lead at 19-9 on Gibbs' driving layup at the 11:09 mark, but UCO had six turnovers and got just a 3-pointer from Smith during a six-minute stretch that saw the Stars cut the deficit to 22-20.

The lead was 24-23 after an OCU trey at 4:58 before Smith went 4-of-4 from the foul line and Davis 3-of-4 in just over a minute to push the lead back to six (29-23). Cormier hit the second of two straight 3-pointers with 1:34 left to make it a seven-point game at 37-30 and the Stars cut it to 37-33 by intermission with another 3-pointer.

Carter's 10-foot jumper early in the second half pushed UCO's lead back to 10 at 46-36 and his three-point play with 11:53 left to play still had the Bronchos in front by 10 (60-50).

The Stars responded with a 14-4 lead to pull even at 64-all with 6:36 remaining and OCU's Shawn Grant answered a Cormier 3-pointer with one of own to keep it deadlocked at 67 to set up the wild finish.

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