Bronchos End Homestand Saturday

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Central Oklahoma closes out a three-game homestand Saturday afternoon when the Bronchos welcome Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association rival Missouri Southern to Hamilton Field House for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

UCO is 14-5 on the season and 7-3 in league play, while the Lions from Joplin, Mo. are 12-10 and 7-4. The Bronchos are tied for third in the conference standings, with MSSU alone in fourth.

Central will be looking to break a five-game losing streak to the Lions, who own a 7-4 lead in the series.

The Bronchos are coming off Thursday's last-second 91-88 win over Pittsburg State, while MSSU was routed by Northeastern State 78-48 Wednesday in Tahlequah.

"That was a big, emotional win for us, but we have to put it aside and get ready to go again," head coach Tom Hankins said. "Missouri Southern has some great players and I'm sure they're anxious to get back on the court to make up for what happened to them the other night."

The Lions, who ended defending MIAA and NCAA Division II national champion Northwest Missouri's 23-game winning streak earlier this month, are one of the league's highest-scoring teams with an 80.1 average. MSSU is shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range.

MSSU has two of the top players in the conference in C.J. Carr and Elyjah Clark.

Carr leads the MIAA in assists (5.9/game) and steals (2.2/game) while averaging a team-high 16.5 points a game. Clark tops the conference and ranks seventh nationally in made 3-pointers with 64 (3.4/game) in averaging 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds.

UCO pulled out Thursday's thrilling win on Marquis Johnson's 3-pointer just ahead of the final buzzer. Corbin Byford led the Bronchos with 20 points, while Johnson and Jake Hammond had 14 and Marqueese Grayson 13.

Byford continues to top the team with a 12.5 scoring average in addition to pulling down a team-best 6.6 rebounds per contest. Grayson and Johnson both net 10.4 points per game.

Hammond chips in 7.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and an MIAA-leading 2.2 blocks a game. He ranks ninth in single-season blocks at UCO with 41 and has 81 for his two-year career, needing two more to move into fifth place on that list.

Jordan Hemphill has scored 32 points in the last two games to bump his scoring average to 7.4.

The Bronchos will again be without their leading defender in Anthony Roberson, who missed Thursday's contest with an injured knee.

UCO goes on the road for two conference games next week before returning home Feb. 8 to host Nebraska-Kearney.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Corbin Byford: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#12 Jake Hammond: C; 6' 9"; Senior

#13 Marquis Johnson: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#0 Anthony Roberson: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#5 Jordan Hemphill: G; 6' 5"; Freshman

#10 Marqueese Grayson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Corbin Byford
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#12 Jake Hammond
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C

#13 Marquis Johnson
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#0 Anthony Roberson
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#5 Jordan Hemphill
: 6' 5"; Freshman
: G

#10 Marqueese Grayson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G