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Seth Heckart

UCO Claims First League Win

Seth Heckart
Box Score

BOLIVAR, Mo. (Dec. 8) – Seth Heckart scored five straight points to break a late tie and Josh Gibbs hit four clutch free throws in the final 27 seconds to lead Central Oklahoma to a streak-snapping 88-82 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association victory over Southwest Baptist here Saturday night.
 
The Bronchos overcame a horrid free throw shooting performance – especially in the first half – and rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to end a frustrating six-game losing streak and earn their first-ever MIAA win.
 
Heckart put UCO ahead for good with a 3-pointer at the 2:57 mark that broke a 73-all tie and the redshirt freshman guard followed with two free throws 13 seconds later.  The lead was five at 83-78 on June Carter's dunk with 59 seconds left and it was a four-point advantage (84-80) after Carter made one of two foul shots at 0:42.
 
Gibbs rebounded a missed 3-pointer on the other end and drained two charity tosses at 0:27 to make it 86-80 and he followed an SBU bucket with two more free throws at 0:16 to seal the verdict.
 
“I'm proud of the way our guys battled and we came out with a good win that we really needed,” head coach Terry Evans said.  “We missed a lot of easy shots and free throws that put us in a bind, but we didn't get down on ourselves and made a good comeback.”
 
UCO prevailed despite shooting just 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from the foul line, making only 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) tries in the opening half.  But the Bronchos made up for that inaccuracy by hitting 7-of-10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in the final 20 minutes.
 
Heckart led the way with 18 points, making 4-of-6 3-pointers.  Gibbs finished with 15 points, while Spencer Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds, Carter 13 points and Cal Andrews 12.
 
UCO sprinted to an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game as Carter had back-to-back layups, but the Bronchos missed nine straight free throws during one stretch and 12 consecutive field goals during another as the Bearcats came back to take a 38-32 halftime lead.
 
The deficit was nine at 59-50 with 10:50 left to play before Andrews scoring five straight points to help get UCO within 61-60.  Smith's layup at the 3:34 mark gave the Bronchos their first lead since the first half at 73-71 and Heckart followed an SBU bucket with his surge.
 
UCO, now 2-6 on the year and 1-1 in league play, doesn't return to action until going to Las Vegas Dec. 18-19 for two games.
  
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