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Seth Heckart
UCO Photo Services
Seth Heckart
79
Central Oklahoma UCOMEN 4-5, 0-3 MIAA
84
Winner Lincoln (MO) LU 5-3, 1-1 MIAA
Central Oklahoma UCOMEN
4-5, 0-3 MIAA
79
Final
84
Lincoln (MO) LU
5-3, 1-1 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Oklahoma UCOMEN 43 36 79
Lincoln (MO) LU 39 45 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UCO Comeback Falls Short

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Dec. 12) – A second-half shooting slump put Central Oklahoma in a big hole and the Bronchos couldn't quite recover in falling to Lincoln 84-79 here Saturday afternoon.
 
UCO trimmed a 12-point deficit to three in the final minute, but the Blue Tigers made six straight free throws down the stretch to hang on in handing the Bronchos their fourth straight loss.
 
Three of those defeats have been by five points or less as UCO dropped to 4-5 on the season and 0-3 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.  LU improved to 5-3 and 1-1.
 
"We're having a hard time finishing games right now," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "The guys are playing hard and we have good stretches, but we're just struggling in some areas and need to get that fixed."
 
The Bronchos committed a season-low nine turnovers, but missed all 12 shots from 3-point range in the second half in losing a four-point lead.  UCO finished 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from long range in the contest.
 
Seth Heckart made four of those treys and was 8-of-15 overall from the field and 4-of-4 from the line in scoring a season-high 24 points to lead the Bronchos.
 
Garen Wright made 6-of-8 shots in a 14-point, six-rebound outing, while Cornell Neal had 11 points and a pair of steals.
 
The first half went back-and-forth through the first 16 minutes before Heckart broke a 36-36 tie with a short jumper.  The senior guard drilled a 3-pointer a minute later to give UCO a 43-37 lead and it was a 43-39 advantage at the break.
 
Two Neal free throws pushed UCO's lead back to six at 45-39 to open the second half, but the Blue Tigers responded with eight unanswered points to take a 47-45 lead.
 
It was tied at 47 after two Wright foul shots before a 13-4 run put LU in front 60-51 at the 13:01 mark. The deficit grew to 12 (69-57) with 7:44 remaining and it was 10 (73-63) at 5:15 before the Bronchos rallied.
 
UCO got within 75-70 on a Kendahl Amerson layup with 3:41 left and a three-point play by Neal made it 78-75 with 39 seconds remaining.
 
But the Bronchos couldn't complete the comeback as LU made six straight free throws the rest of way to keep UCO at bay.
 
The Bronchos continue a conference-opening seven-game road-swing Monday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Lindenwood.
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