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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Trai Jordan
72
Winner Langston LU
69
Central Oklahoma UCO
Winner
Langston LU
72
Final
69
Central Oklahoma UCO
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Langston LU 29 43 72
Central Oklahoma UCO 36 33 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UCO Falls To Late Rally

EDMOND (Oct. 28) – A promising start turned into a sour ending for Central Oklahoma as the Bronchos dropped a 72-69 exhibition decision to Langston Wednesday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
UCO bolted to an 8-0 lead, led by as many as 12 in the first half and never trailed until the final minutes when the Lions scored the game's final eight points to pull out the victory.
 
"That was a tough loss, but hopefully it will be a good learning tool for us," first-year head coach Tom Hankins said.  "We played pretty well for stretches and I saw some good things.  We just made way too many mistakes, both offensively and defensively."
 
The Bronchos had a 69-64 lead after Trai Jordan made two free throws with 3:02 left to play and got the ball back after a missed shot, but two consecutive turnovers led to four Langston points and the lead was down to 69-68.
 
UCO missed a shot at 1:45 and fouled on the rebound, with the Lions hitting two free throws  to take their first lead of the game at 70-69 with 1:44 remaining.
 
The teams traded turnovers before Seth Heckart was off the mark on a baseline drive with eight seconds to play and LU got the rebound.
 
The Lions made two foul shots at 0:02 to go up 72-69 and Cornell Neal's off-balance 40-foot attempt to force overtime hit off the front rim at the final buzzer.
 
Neal led the Bronchos with 16 points, four assists and three steals, while Jordan added 12 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.
 
UCO was hampered by 24 turnovers and shot just 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from the charity stripe.  LU outscored the Bronchos 26-10 from the free throw line.
 
Jordan had four points early as UCO zipped in front 8-0 three minutes into the game and the lead peaked at 12 (27-15) on another Jordan layup with 9:59 left in the half.
 
The Bronchos took a 36-29 lead into intermission and had a series of nine-point cushions in the second half, but the Lions hung around and rallied at the end.
 
UCO goes to Division I Oral Roberts Nov. 7 for its final exhibition game before opening the season Nov. 13-14 at the MIAA/GAC Challenge in Durant, Okla.
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