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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Marquis Johnson
Marquis Johnson
75
Winner Southern Nazarene SNU 8-1
66
Central Oklahoma UCO 9-3
Winner
Southern Nazarene SNU
8-1
75
Final
66
Central Oklahoma UCO
9-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Nazarene SNU 38 37 75
Central Oklahoma UCO 32 34 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bronchos Fall To Southern Nazarene

EDMOND (Dec. 19) – Long-range trouble by Central Oklahoma and success from beyond the arc by Southern Nazarene proved to be the difference Tuesday night at Hamilton Field House as the Bronchos dropped a 75-66 non-conference decision.
 
UCO made its first three 3-pointers of the game in bolting to a big early lead, but hit just one of its last 12 tries in finishing 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from deep.  The Crimson Storm, meanwhile, shot a sizzling 61.1 percent from downtown, hitting 11-of-18 triple attempts.
 
The Bronchos had a three-game winning streak stopped in falling to 9-3 in their last game before the Christmas break.  SNU, which knocked off Division I Oral Roberts in its last outing, improved to 8-1.
 
"That's a very good basketball team we just played," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "They can really shoot it and number three (Micah Speight) makes things happen on both ends of the floor for them.
 
"We got a lot of open looks and just couldn't knock down the shots when we needed to.  I thought we played well in spurts, but they had a couple of big runs on us and we weren't consistent enough."
 
Speight finished with 16 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals to spark the Crimson Storm, who also got five 3-pointers and a game-high 20 points from Jhonathan Dunn.
 
All five UCO starters scored in double figures, with Marqueese Grayson's 14 leading the way.  Marquis Johnson added 13 points, while the inside duo of Corbin Byford and Jake Hammond combined for 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
 
Byford had 12 points, seven boards and three rejections, with Hammond chipping in 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.  Anthony Roberson also had 10 points along with two steals and a block.
 
The Bronchos jumped on top quickly, getting two 3-pointers from Grayson and another from Roberson it jetting to a 15-5 lead just four minutes into the game.  Byford blocked an SNU dunk attempt on one end and threw down a two-handed slam on the other to push UCO's lead to 12 (19-7) at the 11:40 mark.
 
It was a 12-point advantage again at 21-9 after Johnson's layup off a Roberson steal and fast-break assist and the Bronchos still led by double digits (26-15) following Grayson's layup with 6:10 left in the half.
 
And then SNU heated up.
 
The Crimson Storm made six straight treys – three by Dunn – in the final five-plus minutes and ended the half with a 23-6 run to grab a 38-32 lead at the break.
 
SNU led 44-39 early in the second half when Central used its inside game to ignite a 12-2 spurt.  Hammond started that run with a conventional three-point play, Byford muscled in a pair of layups and Phabian Glasco had another close-range bucket to go along with Johnson's 3-pointer from the corner – the final one of the game for UCO – that gave the Bronchos a 51-46 lead with 14:02 left.
 
A mid-range Johnson jumper had UCO still in front by five at 53-48 a minute later, but SNU responded with a 6-1 run to pull even at 54.  It was tied again at 57 with 8:45 to play after another Byford layup off a fine Hammond feed.
 
But the Crimson Storm scored six unanswered points to take the lead for good and UCO missed its final seven 3-point attempts of the game as SNU closed out its third straight win in the series.
 
The Bronchos don't play again until going to Rogers State on Dec. 30.
 
 
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