Skip To Main Content

University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Cal Andrews
72
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 10-2, 3-0 MIAA
57
Central Missouri UCM 10-1, 1-1 MIAA
Winner
Central Oklahoma UCO
10-2, 3-0 MIAA
72
Final
57
Central Missouri UCM
10-1, 1-1 MIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 34 38 72
Central Missouri UCM 34 23 57

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Upset Special!

Box Score

WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Dec. 18) – Suffocating defense down the stretch paved the way for Central Oklahoma to pull off a monumental upset here Thursday night as the Bronchos knocked off defending national champion and No. 3-ranked Central Missouri 72-57.
 
UCO forced the Mules into 10 straight missed shots during an eight-minute span late in the game in turning a precarious three-point lead into an 18-point cushion and the Bronchos cruised in with their sixth straight win.
 
Coach Terry Evans' crew improved to 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play while handing the three-time defending league champion Mules (10-1, 1-1) their first loss.  The Bronchos also ended UCM's 33-game home winning streak that dated back to a 69-67 UCO victory late in the 2011-12 season.
 
"We played really well, especially on the defensive end, and came out with a big win," Evans said.  "Our guys did a great job of staying focused and they wanted to show that we're one of the top teams in the conference."
 
Mahlon Jones led the Bronchos with 18 points, three assists and three steals, while Cal Andrews made 4-of-6 shots from long range in a 17-point, six-rebound outing.
 
Seth Heckart added nine points, seven rebounds and three assists, with Philip Brown chipping in nine points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

UCO was up 57-54 with 8:27 remaining before it turned up the defensive pressure and reeled off 15 straight points in putting the game away.
 
Layups by Brown and Jones sandwiched a Heckart trey that pushed the lead to 10 (64-54) with 4:23 left and another long bomb by Andrews had the Bronchos in control at 67-54 with 3:27 remaining.
 
The lead peaked at 18 (72-54) on Garen Wright's layup with 30 seconds left, with the Mules hitting a 3-pointer at 0:24 to end an eight-minute scoring drought to arrange the final margin.
 
The game went back-and-forth the first six minutes before Central Missouri surged in front 15-10 and it was a still a five-point deficit at 21-16 before the Bronchos ripped off 11 unanswered points.
 
Wright started that spurt with a free throw, Brown followed with a layup and Heckart drilled a 3-pointer to put UCO up 22-21, with Andrews hitting another trey and a layup to give the Bronchos a 27-21 lead at the 6:18 mark.
 
It was still a six-point advantage (30-24) following Andrews' conventional three-point play with 4:33 left and the lead peaked at eight (34-26) on Jarred Bairstow's jumper at 3:01, but UCO missed its final four shots of the half as the  Mules ended it with an 8-0 run to pull even at 34-all by the break.
 
The Bronchos moved in front to stay by scoring the first five points of the second half on three Jones free throws and a Wright layup and the lead reached double digits at 50-40 with 15:50 left following a steal and layup by Jones.
 
It was a 57-54 advantage when Brown went inside for a layup to start the game-ending surge.
 
UCO returns to action Saturday, going to St. Joseph, Mo. to take on league rival Missouri Western at 3:30 p.m.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad
Skip Sponsors