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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Ashford Golden
Ashford Golden
77
Winner Central Okla. UCO 5-4
74
Okla. Baptist OKBU 4-4
Winner
Central Okla. UCO
5-4
77
Final
74
Okla. Baptist OKBU
4-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Okla. UCO 35 42 77
Okla. Baptist OKBU 37 37 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Avery, Golden Lead Bronchos Past OBU

SHAWNEE, Okla. (Dec. 18) – Adarius Avery and Ashford Golden combined for 54 points, Marquis Johnson made two clutch free throws in the final seconds and Central Oklahoma pulled out a thrilling 77-74 win over Oklahoma Baptist Tuesday night.

Johnson – a 65-percent foul shooter on the season -- calmly swished two charity tosses with 16.1 seconds left to give the Bronchos a three-point cushion and UCO held on when the Bison missed two 3-point tries in the final 10 seconds.

"That was a big win for us," head coach Tom Hankins said.  "We made some key plays on both ends of the floor down the stretch.  Obviously Adarius and Ashford had it going offensively, but we got big contributions from a lot of guys."

Avery finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.  The senior forward was 11-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line and he corralled OBU's last 3-point miss to secure the win.

Golden added a season-high 25 points, making 9-of-15 shots with three treys and all four free throw attempts.  He added six rebounds.

Jordan Hemphill chipped in eight points, seven boards and two steals, while Johnson finished with six points and a pair of thefts.

The Bronchos trailed 37-35 at halftime, but went ahead for the first time since the opening minutes when an Avery free throw capped a 5-0 run that put UCO on top 42-41.

Avery's three-point play followed by a Jaylan Williams trey from the top of the key gave Central its biggest lead at 50-45 with 12:35 left.

The Bison scored the next four points to get within 50-49 and it was a back-and-forth contest the rest of the way.

Golden's acrobatic layup on the fast-break put UCO ahead 69-66 with 3:45 remaining and he followed an OBU basket with a layup off a great Johnson feed to make it 71-68 at the 2:30 mark.

Dashon Bell answered a Bison free throw with a floater at 2:04 to make it 73-69, but OBU responded with a 3 pointer at 1:40 to get within a point.  Hemphill's driving layup pushed UCO's lead to 75-72 at 1:24 and then Golden came up with a steal.

But the Bronchos couldn't capitalize, missing three shots, and the Bison scored with 25.6 seconds left to cut the lead to 75-74.  OBU couldn't get a turnover and fouled Johnson, who promptly made the clinching free throws.

UCO trailed by eight (24-16) midway through in the first half before going on a 10-2 run to tie it.

Hemphill's tip-in and an Avery follow shot started that spurt, with Avery answering an OBU bucket with another rebound and basket to make it 26-22.

Golden cut the deficit to two with a fast-break layup off a nice Avery pass and the Bronchos tied it at 26-all with 5:38 left in the half on Alex Ogunseye's layup off an inside spin move.

Central missed its next four shots as the Bison scored five straight points to go ahead 31-26, but Avery ended that drought with a three-point play after getting fouled while finishing off a coast-to-coast layup.

UCO scored the final four points of the half to trim a 37-31 deficit to 37-35 at the break, getting a follow shot from Avery and a fast-break layup from Golden.

Avery (15) and Golden (14) combined for 29 of Central's 35 first-half points.

It was the final game of the first semester for the Bronchos, who don't return to action until hosting Tabor College on Dec. 29.
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