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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Kole Talbott
65
Lincoln LU 6-8, 0-5 MIAA
76
Winner Central Oklahoma UCO 11-3, 4-1 MIAA
Lincoln LU
6-8, 0-5 MIAA
65
Final
76
Central Oklahoma UCO
11-3, 4-1 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Lincoln LU 31 34 65
Central Oklahoma UCO 41 35 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Outlast Lincoln Thursday

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team officially is back on a winning streak following the Bronchos' 76-65 win over Lincoln (Mo.) in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play Thursday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
UCO improved to 11-3 with the win, and 4-1 in conference play, following its third-straight win over Lincoln dating back to the 2015-16 season.
 
"We did not play our best basketball tonight," UCO head coach Tom Hankins said. "Anytime you can get a win, it's a good thing. There are no bad wins. But we made way too many mistakes, some of which we had to pay for and some we didn't. We need to correct some of those things moving forward. This is only the beginning of more challenging part of our schedule."
 
Lincoln only led for 1:41 of Thursday night's game, and at times, the Bronchos looked to be cruising to a win. But UCO found itself a time or two letting Lincoln stick around and keep the game close. The Bronchos led by as many as 14, when they knocked down their final field goal of the game, with just under three minutes to play. The Bronchos only scored three more points, all on free throws, to walk away winners.
 
"We had 13 turnovers tonight but sometimes we made it seem like more," Hankins said. "Either we were turning it over, or we were just stagnant on offense and didn't get any good looks. And that's also a credit to Lincoln, they throw a lot of different looks at you on defense, but I think our guys could have handled it a little better."
 
UCO relied a lot on its tough defense Thursday. Though Lincoln shot 47 percent from the floor, and knocked down a whopping 13 threes on 26 attempts, the Bronchos forced 17 turnovers and had a season-high 11 blocked shots – just three shy of a school record. Jake Hammond's five blocks led the way for the Bronchos.
 
Sluggish or not, stagnant or not, clicking on all cylinders or not, the Bronchos came away with the win thanks to five players scoring in double figures.
 
Marqueese Grayson and Phabian Glasco each had the team-high of 11 points. Hammond had 10 – all in the first half. And Anthony Roberson and Josh Holliday joined him with 10. Jordan London had seven off the bench, Kole Talbott scored five. And Marquis Johnson and Corbin Byford each scored six. Roberson's six rebounds were a game-high.
 
Central Oklahoma used a late first-half surge to build a 41-31 halftime lead. After trailing 22-20 with 10:30 to play, London sank a three to give the Bronchos the lead. UCO then got a fastbreak layup from Talbott following one of Hammond's five rejections to go up by three. Talbott sank a 3-pointer of his own just moments after Roberson notched his own block to make it a six-point game.
 
A layup by London on the break, and a three by Holliday following a Lincoln turnover made it 33-22 UCO. The Bronchos led by as many as 12 down the stretch in the first half.
 
But again, Lincoln wouldn't go away. Byford put the Bronchos up by 12 again in the second half, 49-37 with 16:41 to play, but Lincoln whittled the lead down to seven a few minutes later.
 
Again, Roberson put UCO up by 12, 60-48 with 10:17 to play. But then it was a five-point game with 5:30 to play.
 
UCO pushed the lead up to 14 on its next run, capped by a Holliday layup with 2:53 to play, finally putting away the pesky Blue Tigers.
 
Central Oklahoma has a quick turnaround. The Bronchos will look to win its third straight game Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Hamilton Field House, when UCO hosts Lindenwood.
 
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