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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Corey Alpough
77
Winner Northwest Missouri State NWMSU 18-5, 15-3 MIAA
61
Central Oklahoma UCO 12-11, 8-9 MIAA
Winner
Northwest Missouri State NWMSU
18-5, 15-3 MIAA
77
Final
61
Central Oklahoma UCO
12-11, 8-9 MIAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Northwest Missouri State NWMSU 40 37 77
Central Oklahoma UCO 27 34 61

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Northwest Missouri Too Much For Bronchos

EDMOND (Feb. 11) – League-leading Northwest Missouri took control early and Central Oklahoma could never catch up in dropping a 77-61 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association decision Thursday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
The Bronchos led only once, trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half and were down 24 in the second before rallying.  UCO cut its deficit to 10 in the final minutes, but the Bearcats ended the game with an 8-2 spurt to close it out.
 
NWMSU moved to 18-5 on the season and 15-3 in the conference with its eighth straight win.  The Bronchos fell to 12-11 and 8-9 heading into a Saturday afternoon home contest with Missouri Western.
 
"Northwest Missouri has a very disciplined team that just doesn't make many mistakes," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "We were playing catch-up the whole game and that's tough to do, especially against a good team."
 
UCO had a season-low six turnovers, but the Bronchos shot just 39.5 percent (17-of-43) from the field and were outrebounded 33-25.  The Bearcats shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) overall and hit half of their 22 attempts from 3-point range.
 
Garen Wright led UCO with 16 points, making 4-of-7 shots and 7-of-8 free throws.  Seth Heckart had three 3-pointers in scoring 11 points, Jarred Bairstow was 6-of-6 from the line in an 11-point outing and Cornell Neal added 10 points.
 
Wright gave the Bronchos their lone lead at 4-2 two minutes into the game on a 3-pointer from the corner, but NWMSU answered with a 10-0 run to move in front for good at 12-4.
 
The Bearcats pulled away from there and went up 16 (40-24) in the final minutes of the half before settling for a 40-27 advantage at the break.
 
UCO was within 11 at 44-33 on a Heckart trey from the top of the key early in the second half and trailed 46-34 when NWMSU exploded for 12 unanswered points in a three-minute span to stretch its lead to 24 (58-34) with 15:02 left to play.
 
The Bronchos tried to rally, getting six points from Wright in a 12-0 run of their own to cut the margin back to 12 at 58-46 with 8:36 remaining.
 
Another Heckart 3-pointer kept UCO within 12 (65-53) at the 5:12 mark and two Neal free throws made it a 10-point game (69-59) at 2:07, but the Bearcats hit a long trey at the other end to end all doubt on the outcome.
 
 
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