Bronchos Survive USAO

11/25/2013 9:36:00 PM

Aaron Anderson

Box Score

EDMOND (Nov. 25) – Aaron Anderson scored eight of his game-high 18 points during a 16-2 second-half scoring run that turned the game around and powered Central Oklahoma to a tough 76-75 win over Science and Arts of Oklahoma Monday night at Hamilton Field House.

The Drovers had led most of the game and were up 58-50 when Anderson ignited the spurt that turned the tide. The sophomore guard had three layups and a pair of free throws as the Bronchos went ahead 66-60 with 3:58 left to play and UCO led 74-67 with 20 seconds left before holding on.

"We didn't shoot very well from outside and didn't make our free throws like we should, but we found a way to win," said head coach Terry Evans, whose team made just 2-of-12 3-pointers and shot only 64.9 percent from the charity stipe. "Our rebounding and defense final got us going and we made some things happen the last 10 minutes of the game."

Josh Gibbs led UCO's dominating effort on the boards, finishing with his second 21-rebound game of the season as the Bronchos outrebounded USAO 52-31 in improving to 4-1.

Anderson added eight caroms to his 18-point night, making 6-of-9 shots and 6-of-8 free throws. Gibbs finished with 15 points, Jarrod McDaniel added 14 points and four assists and freshman Jacob Richardson chipped in 11 big points off the bench.

UCO trailed 39-34 at halftime, was down nine (44-35) early in the second half and still faced the eight-point deficit at 58-50 when Anderson got the Bronchos going.

He started the 16-2 run with a follow shot at the 8:15 mark and added a layup a minute later before Richardson's conventional three-point play cut the deficit to one (58-57) at 6:33.

McDaniel made a steal at mid-court and drove in for a layup 10 seconds later to give the Bronchos their first lead since the first half and Gibbs made one of two foul shots following a USAO miss to make it 60-58.

The Drovers tied it on a bucket with 5:19 remaining, but Anderson made two free throws and scored on a fast-break layup before Philip Brown capped the run with an emphatic dunk off a nifty McDaniel pass to give UCO a 66-60 advantage at 3:58.

McDaniel drained a long 3-pointer to keep the Bronchos in front by six (71-65) at 2:14 and it was a seven-point cushion (74-67) with just 20 seconds left before the Drovers made things interesting.

USAO sandwiched a layup at 0:15 and 3-pointer at 0:07 around one Cal Andrews free throw at 0:12 to get within three at 75-72. Anderson was fouled with three seconds left and made the second foul shot to give UCO a four-point lead, which turned out to be crucial when the Drovers made the last of their 10 treys at the buzzer.

The Bronchos host the UCO Classic this weekend, playing Southern Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Oklahoma City at 4 p.m. Saturday.

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