Successful Start

11/12/2013 10:52:00 PM

Jarrod McDaniel

Box Score
Photo Gallery

EDMOND (Nov. 12) – Five different players scored in a frenzied 21-2 run that turned a small deficit into a sizeable lead and sparked Central Oklahoma to a season-opening 106-93 victory over Southwestern Christian Tuesday night at Hamilton Field House.

The Bronchos trailed 23-18 with 11:42 left in the half before Seth Heckart hit a 3-pointer from the wing to start the game-turning scoring spurt. Heckart had six points, Jarrod McDaniel five, Philip Brown four, Josh Gibbs four and Cal Andrews two in a six-minute span that ended with UCO on top 39-25.

Coach Terry Evans' crew kept its high-octane attack going the rest of the half in stretching its lead to 17 (57-40) by intermission and the Bronchos led by as many as 28 in the second half before coasting in.

"We didn't finish the game the way we wanted, but we did a lot of good things and it's always great to start the season with a win," said Evans, whose team won its eighth straight season opener. "We've got two tough games coming up and we need to get ready for those."

UCO stays in the metro area for two road games later this week, going to Oklahoma City to face the Stars Thursday night before traveling to Bethany Saturday to take on Southern Nazarene.

Gibbs and McDaniel both had spectacular individual efforts in UCO's highest-scoring game since a 109-79 rout of East Central late in the 2009-10 season.

Gibbs finished with 24 points and 21 rebounds – tied for the second-most in school history -- in 27 minutes of action. He had 14 boards in the first half alone and hit 7-of-17 shots with three 3-pointers and 7-of-10 free throws.

McDaniel, a key starter on UCO's Sweet 16 team in 2010-11, had a remarkable all-around performance in his first game back after a two-year hiatus. The senior point guard had career highs for points (18), assists (11) and steals (four) in running the offensive attack while also playing disruptive defense.

Cal Andrews made four 3-pointers in scoring 17 points and Philip Brown added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bronchos.

The game went back-and-forth early before the Eagles established their five-point lead at 23-18, but it was all UCO after that.

The 21-2 run gave the Bronchos a 39-25 advantage and it was a 21-point lead at 54-33 following an Andrews 3-pointer at the 2:07 mark en route to the 57-40 halftime cushion.

UCO's lead peaked at 28 (78-50) on a Gibbs layup with 13:51 left to play and it was still a 23-point game (97-74) at the 4:34 mark before Southwestern Christian made a late run to get within the final 13-point margin of victory.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories