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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Corbin Byford
Corbin Byford
61
Southwest Baptist SBU 12-10, 5-8 MIAA
71
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 14-7, 8-4 MIAA
Southwest Baptist SBU
12-10, 5-8 MIAA
61
Final
71
Central Oklahoma UCO
14-7, 8-4 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southwest Baptist SBU 14 47 61
Central Oklahoma UCO 32 39 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Byford Leads UCO Past Bearcats

EDMOND (Feb. 4) – Corbin Byford dominating play in the paint to carry Central Oklahoma past Southwest Baptist 71-61 Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House in a wire-to-wire victory that wasn't as close as the final margin indicts.
 
The Bronchos led by double digits most of the game and were up by as many as 24 points in the second half before allowing the Bearcats a closing run to arrange the final score, though the outcome was never in doubt.
 
Byford was the catalyst with his bruising play inside.  The 6-foot-6 senior recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds – eight of those on the offensive end – in pacing a balanced attack that saw five players score in double figures.
 
Josh Holliday and Marquis Johnson added 14 points apiece, while Jake Hammond had 12 points, three assists and two blocked shots and Corey Alpough 10 points.
 
UCO improved to 14-7 on the season and remained in a second-place tie in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings at 8-4.  SBU fell to 12-10 and 5-8.
 
"It was a good win for us, but we've got to learn to concentrate longer and close out games the right way," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "The first half we were locked in defensively, but not so much the second half.  It's human nature when you get up 20 points to relax and really good teams don't do that.
 
"Hopefully, we're getting there.  We've got to have that killer mentality so that when we get a team down like that we finish the game off right."
 
UCO had nine steals and held the Bearcats to 36.7-percent shooting (18-of-49), including a mere 14.3 percent (3-of-21) in a lock-down first half that saw the Bronchos take a 32-14 lead into the break.
 
Holliday's corner 3-pointer 21 seconds into the contest gave UCO a lead it never relinquished and the Bronchos seized control with a 12-0 run midway through the opening half.  Five different players scored during that spurt to push a 13-10 lead to a big 25-10 advantage and Byford's last-minute layup made it 32-14 at intermission.
 
UCO extended its lead to 24 twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half, at 51-27 and again at 54-30.  The Bearcats managed to whittle into the deficit and got within eight (67-59), but only 34 seconds remaining by that time and the Bronchos went on to close out their fourth win in five outings.
 
UCO goes on the road for two conference games next week before returning home Feb. 16 to host Nebraska-Kearney.
 
 
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