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Jake Hammond
47
Central Oklahoma UCO 12-5, 5-3 MIAA
49
Winner Washburn WU 13-3, 7-0 MIAA
Central Oklahoma UCO
12-5, 5-3 MIAA
47
Final
49
Washburn WU
13-3, 7-0 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 14 33 47
Washburn WU 26 23 49

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Falls Short At Washburn

TOPEKA, Kan. – Jordan London created space on the left wing and fired a deep 3-point shot, but couldn't find the rim and the University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team lost a Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association road contest to Washburn 49-47 at Lee Arena.
 
"That's a tough way to finish," UCO head coach Tom Hankins said. "I'm not the least bit happy about losing, but I am happy that we fought back to have a chance to win it at the buzzer. We were awful in the first half and down by double-digits at halftime and again in the second half. So to battle back like that and get the ball with the last shot, that's good.
 
"We just need to be better at playing the full game the way we've been playing from behind," Hankins continued. "We can't put ourselves in that position and expect to win on the road against a team like that."
 
UCO trailed 26-14 at halftime after an abysmal first-half of shooting. The Bronchos were just 6 of 27 in the first half (22.2 percent). UCO hit 1 of 9 3-point attempts and even struggled from the free-throw line, making only 1 of 4 attempts from there.
 
But that didn't deter the Bronchos in the second half.
 
UCO started the second half on a 13-0 run, coming from 12-down to take a 27-26 lead when London made a layup with 16:59 to play. UCO and Washburn went back and forth for the next four minutes, trading blow for blow. Jake Hammond put in a shot to give UCO a 33-31 lead, but then the Bronchos were suddenly taken back to their first-half offensive self. Washburn went on a 10-0 run from there to build a 43-33 lead with 8:24 to play.
 
London and Hammond though responded, putting in a pair of baskets to cut into the lead. Corbin Byford added another layup to make it 46-39 with 4:45 to play. Then Marquis Johnson hit a pair of 3-pointers to make it 49-45 with three minutes to play.
 
Despite Washburn not scoring a point following a Javion Blake 3-pointer with just under four minutes to play, UCO also had trouble finding the offense in the end.
 
Following a UCO turnover, Anthony Roberson chased down Tyas Martin and rejected a layup. Hammond earned a pair of free throws on the other end to make it 49-47. The Bronchos then fouled Blake to send him to the line for a one-and-one with 13 seconds to play. Blake missed his first shot to setup the chance for the Bronchos to tie or go for the win.
 
After Washburn used its last foul to give, the Bronchos inbounded, and London took his shot.
 
UCO drops to 12-5 on the season with the loss, and is 5-3 in MIAA play. Johnson led UCO with 11 points on the day. Hammond had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Roberson added eight for the Bronchos.
 
Central returns home and will play Northeastern State next Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3:30 p.m. in Hamilton Field House.
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