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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

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Jake Hammond
Jake Hammond
82
Central Okla. UCOMBB 12-7, 7-4 MIAA
83
Winner Mo. Southern St. MSSU 13-8, 7-5 MIAA
Central Okla. UCOMBB
12-7, 7-4 MIAA
82
Final
83
Mo. Southern St. MSSU
13-8, 7-5 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Central Okla. UCOMBB 38 35 9 82
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 35 38 10 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bronchos Fall In Overtime Thriller

JOPLIN, Mo. (Jan. 28) – Foul trouble and turnovers plagued Central Oklahoma down the stretch as the Bronchos dropped a tough 83-82 overtime decision to Missouri Southern here Saturday afternoon.
 
Jake Hammond, Xavier Howard and Josh Holliday all fouled out in the final seven minutes of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association contest and UCO committed six turnovers during that stretch, including four in the final four minutes of regulation when the Lions rallied to force overtime.
 
Despite those difficulties the Bronchos still had a chance to pull out a dramatic victory at the end, but Corey Alpough's 3-pointer at the OT buzzer bounced off the front rim and UCO lost for the fifth straight time to the Lions.
 
"We put them at the line too much and their pressure gave us some trouble," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "It was tough losing three guys like that, but I thought we battled hard and gave ourselves a chance at the end."
 
It was the second straight overtime game for the Bronchos, who had a two-game winning streak snapped in falling to 12-7 on the season and 7-4 in league play.  UCO, which finished with 19 turnovers in the game, was outscored 28-16 at the free throw line.
 
The Bronchos had a six-point lead at 70-64 with 3:58 left in regulation after Corbin Byford's three-point play, but three turnovers contributed to a 6-0 MSSU run that tied it.
 
Marquis Johnson gave UCO a 73-71 lead with 29.9 seconds left on a baseline drive and floater, though the Lions tied it again on a layup with 19.1 seconds remaining.  Jordon London's pass to Byford underneath the basket with two seconds left was picked off to force the extra session.
 
Corey Alpough scored four quick points to get the Bronchos out front 77-73 early in OT and it was a 79-76 lead following a Byford layup, but the Lions scored five straight points at the foul line to move ahead 81-79 with 1:38 left.
 
London hit one free throw at 1:26 and Alpough came up with a steal on the other end, which eventually led to Byford's short hook shot that gave UCO an 82-81 lead with just 19.7 seconds left.  MSSU drove in for the go-ahead layup with 8.1 seconds to play and Alpough's game-winning attempt was just off the mark.
 
Byford led the Bronchos with 17 points and 14 rebounds, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the field.  Johnson added 13 points and five assists while playing 40 minutes, with Hammond (11), Alpough (11) and Demari Edwards (10) also scoring in double figures.
 
UCO returns home Thursday to host Central Missouri at 7:30 p.m.
 
 
 
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