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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Trai Jordan
54
Fort Hays State FHSU 19-9, 13-9
67
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 15-13, 11-11
Fort Hays State FHSU
19-9, 13-9
54
Final
67
Central Oklahoma UCO
15-13, 11-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Fort Hays State FHSU 24 30 54
Central Oklahoma UCO 31 36 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

UCO Tames Tigers

EDMOND (Feb. 27) – Trai Jordan had another dominating effort inside and Jacob Strassle scored a career-high 14 points in a rare start to catapult Central Oklahoma past Fort Hays State 67-54 Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.
 
Jordan had 10 points, a career-best 14 rebounds and two blocked shots, while Strassle added four rebounds and two steals to his 14-point outing in just the 11th start of his four-year career on Senior Day.
 
It was the third straight win for the Bronchos, who finished the regular season 15-13 and ended up in a five-way tie for fifth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings.  The Tigers fell to 19-9 and 13-9.
 
UCO ended up fifth in the final league standings and will host Central Missouri at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the MIAA Post-season Tournament.  The final three rounds of the tournament will be at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
 
"Our guys came out and played really hard today," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "We got after it pretty good defensively and didn't let up."
 
The Bronchos limited FHSU to 34.6-percent shooting from the field (18-of-52) and held a 41-32 rebounding advantage.
 
Strassle's 14 points led UCO's balanced attack as eight of the nine players who played scored.  Jordan made 5-of-6 shots in his 10-point outing and five of his 14 boards came on the offensive end.
 
Josh Holliday made 3-of-4 shots from beyond the 3-point arc in adding 12 points, while Cornell Neal had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
The Bronchos never trailed after taking a 6-4 lead  four minutes into the game on a Jarred Bairstow layup off a Neal assist and it was a double-digit advantage at 21-11 following a Holliday trey.
 
UCO took a 31-24 lead into intermission and the Tigers hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, but Strassle answered with a trey of his own from the wing and then followed a FHSU turnover with a follow shot to make it 36-27.
 
The Bronchos pushed the cushion to 15 (50-35) on a Heckart bomb from the corner midway through the half and lead peaked at 21 (58-37) on two Jordan London free throws with 6:16 left.
 
UCO coasted in from there to complete the turnover from a 17-point loss to the Tigers six weeks ago.
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