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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Marqueese Grayson
72
Dallas Baptist DBU 8-1
83
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 9-2
Dallas Baptist DBU
8-1
72
Final
83
Central Oklahoma UCO
9-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Dallas Baptist DBU 33 39 72
Central Oklahoma UCO 43 40 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Bronchos Knock Off No. 17 Dallas Baptist

EDMOND (Dec. 9) – Marqueese Grayson's 3-pointer ignited a game-ending 11-2 scoring spurt that catapulted Central Oklahoma to an 83-72 upset of No. 17-ranked Dallas Baptist Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House.
 
The Bronchos had seen an 11-point second-half lead trimmed to one in the final minutes when Grayson drilled a trey from the wing at the 2:14 mark to put UCO up 74-70.  Anthony Roberson rebounded a DBU miss on the other end and Marquis Johnson's straightaway 3-pointer with 1:40 left made it 77-70.
 
Central finished off the big win at the free throw line, with Roberson going 4-for-4 and Jordan Hemphill 2-for-2 from the charity stripe in the final 1:09 as the Bronchos pulled away.
 
It was the third straight win for UCO, which improved to 9-2 on the season while handing the Patriots their first loss after an 8-0 start.
 
"Dallas Baptist is a very good team and they are going to rack up a lot of wins this year," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "I'm really proud of our guys.  It was our fifth game in 10 days and there was definitely some fatigue, but we matched their intensity.  Our depth and our bench carried us."
 
Corbin Byford and Grayson combined for 39 points to lead the way and were the only two players in double figures for UCO, which got 23 points from its bench.
 
Byford hit 8-of-11 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and 2-of-3 free throws in finishing with game highs in points (20) and rebounds (12) while also blocking two shots.  Grayson had 19 points, going 7-of-10 from the floor with five treys in addition to making four steals.
 
Roberson ended up 7-of-8 from the line in a nine-point outing in addition to playing his usual in-your-shirt defense, with Phabian Glasco also scoring nine points.  Jake Hammond had seven points, six rebounds and two blocks.
 
Defense was again the key for the Bronchos, who held DBU 17 points under its per-game scoring average while holding a big 39-28 rebounding advantage.
 
"I thought out big guys did a phenomenal job protecting the rim and getting defensive rebounds," Hankins said.  "There's no question our depth was the key today, especially when we had a few guys get in foul trouble."
 
The Patriots hit two early 3-pointers in grabbing a 6-2 lead, but UCO answered with eight unanswered points to move in front for good.  Roberson started the spurt by making one of two foul shots, Byford and Hammond dropped in back-to-back buckets from close range and Grayson drilled a long 3-pointer to make it 10-6 just four minutes into the contest.
 
Hamphill's 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10 (21-11) with 11:38 left and the freshman scored again from 15 feet to give UCO its biggest lead at 33-19 with 4:47 left.  DBU managed to get within 10 (43-33) by halftime and was within single digits most of the second half as the Bronchos went cold from long range.
 
Grayson's layup at the 5:53 mark gave UCO an 11-point lead (66-55) before the Patriots responded with an 11-2 run to get within a bucket at 68-66.  Grayson's trey at 3:29 made it 71-66, but DBU converted a rare four-point play on the other end to cut the deficit to 71-70 at 3:13.
 
The Bronchos didn't wilt, however, closing the game with the 11-2 spurt that sealed the upset.
 
Central went 4-1 in the five-game, 10-day stretch, with the lone loss a 13-point setback on the road to defending national champion Northwest Missouri.
 
"We've definitely improved and grown in these last five games," Hankins said.  "Our only loss was to the number one team in the country on their floor.  We're figuring out what it takes to win close games since we hadn't had many of those until this stretch."
 
The Bronchos don't play again until hosting Southern Nazarene on Dec. 19.
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