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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Cornell Neal
74
Emporia State ESU 6-8, 3-5 MIAA
84
Winner Central Oklahoma UCOMEN 6-8, 2-6 MIAA
Emporia State ESU
6-8, 3-5 MIAA
74
Final
84
Central Oklahoma UCOMEN
6-8, 2-6 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Emporia State ESU 30 44 74
Central Oklahoma UCOMEN 41 43 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UCO Rallies Past Hornets

EDMOND (Jan. 7) – Cornell Neal and Kendahl Amerson led a sensational first-half rally that sparked Central Oklahoma to an 84-74 victory over Emporia State Thursday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
Neal scored 11 points and Amerson 10 over the final 13 minutes of the opening half as the Bronchos turned a seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead and UCO led by as many as 22 in the second half before surviving some anxious moments down the stretch.
 
It was the first home game in more than a month for the Bronchos, who shot a season-high 57.4 percent (31-of-54) from the field to end a three-game Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association losing streak in improving to 6-8 on the season and 2-6 in the league.  The Hornets fell to 6-8 and 3-5.
 
"We struggled early and then really did a nice job offensively and defensively the last 12 or 13 minutes of the half to get the lead," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "We made some mistakes to let them get back in it at the end, but we were able to close it out and pick up a nice win."
 
Neal hit 8-of-10 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and 4-of-6 free throws to finish with a season-high 22 points while adding five rebounds and five assists.  Amerson ended up with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting with one trey.
 
The Bronchos also got a huge game from Jarred Bairstow, who made 6-of-8 field goals with one 3-pointer and all four foul shots in tying a career high with 17 points to go with six rebounds.  Garen Wright chipped in 11 points, six boards and four assists, with Corey Alpough contributing 11 points and two steals.
 
UCO got off to a slow start and was down seven (16-9) at the 13:17 mark before Neal scored nine points during a furious 14-3 run that had the Bronchos on top 23-19 just three minutes later.
 
It was tied at 27-all when Amerson got in the act with back-to-back buckets to ignite another 14-3 spurt that gave UCO a 41-30 halftime advantage.
 
Bairstow opened the second half with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 44-30 and the Bronchos eventually pushed the lead to 22 (60-38) on a short Bairstow jumper with 12:44 remaining.
 
UCO appeared ready to cruise in from there and still had an 18-point lead at 72-54 with 5:28 left before a barrage of turnovers allowed the Hornets to make things interesting.
 
ESU went on an 18-6 run to pull within six (78-72) with 1:07 left, but Bairstow made four clutch free throws and Neal added a fast-break layup off a Wright feed to help the Bronchos close the deal.
 
UCO is back home again Saturday, hosting conference foe Washburn at 3:30 p.m.
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