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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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70
Southern Nazarene SNU 5-1
74
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 6-2
Southern Nazarene SNU
5-1
70
Final
74
Central Oklahoma UCO
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Nazarene SNU 44 26 70
Central Oklahoma UCO 38 36 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bronchos Rally Past SNU

Box Score

OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 29) – Mahlon Jones and Seth Heckart made two pressure-packed free throws apiece in the final 24 seconds to cap a late-game rally that vaulted Central Oklahoma past Southern Nazarene 74-70 Saturday night on the second day of the Oklahoma Christian Classic.
 
The Bronchos overcome a 16-point first-half deficit and ended the game with an 8-1 run to pull out the tense victory in improving to 6-2 on the season.
 
"We got down early and had to battle back the whole game," head coach Terry Evans said.  "It was a tough game and we made some mistakes that hurt us, but we played hard and hit some big free throws at the end."
 
The Crimson Storm led 69-66 when Jones made two foul shots to pull UCO within a point with 3:52 left and the Bronchos finally took the lead for good at 70-69 on Garen Wright's layup at the 2:09 mark.
 
Cal Andrews rebounded an SNU miss on the other end, but UCO also couldn't connect.  The Crimson Storm missed another jumper with 37 seconds remaining and Andrews was there again for the carom.
 
Jones calmly swished two foul shots to make it 72-69 at 0:24 after getting fouled on a drive to the basket and the Bronchos fouled SNU before it could attempt a tying 3-pointer at 0:07.
 
The Crimson Storm made one free throw to get within 72-70, but UCO broke SNU's press and Heckart's two no-doubt free throws clinched the win with 2.9 seconds to play.
 
Wright hit 7-of-13 shots in scoring a game-high 17  points to lead another balanced attack, while Jones added 15 points and Heckart 13.
 
The Bronchos shot 56.8 percent (25-of-44) from the field in overcoming a season-high 16 turnovers.
 
UCO had six miscues in the first six minutes of the game as the Crimson Storm raced to a 16-6 lead and it was a 13-point deficit at 27-14 midway through the first half.
 
SNU's lead peaked at 16 (42-26) before Jones nailed a 3-pointer at the start and end of a 12-2 run that pulled the Bronchos within 44-38 at intermission.
 
The Crimson Storm had a nine-point lead (58-49) with 13:32 remaining before Wright's mid-court steal and one-handed dunk ignited a 10-0 spurt that gave UCO its first lead of the game at 59-58 with 10:36 to play.
 
It was back-and-forth the rest of the way before the late surge lifted the Bronchos to their second win in two nights.
 
UCO returns to action Monday, hosting Mid-America Christian at 7 p.m.
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