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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Ashford Golden
68
Central Oklahoma UCO 5-3, 0-1
96
Winner Mo. Southern St. MSSU 8-1, 1-0
Central Oklahoma UCO
5-3, 0-1
68
Final
96
Mo. Southern St. MSSU
8-1, 1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 25 43 68
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 44 52 96

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Bronchos Fall To Missouri Southern In MIAA Opener

JOPLIN, Mo. - The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team lost to 19th-ranked Missouri Southern 96-68 Thursday night at The Leggett & Platt Athletic Center in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association seaosn-opener for the Bronchos.

"They knocked down shot after shot from behind the arc tonight and it's hard to keep up with that," UCO head men's basketball coach Tom Hankins said. "We didn't shoot the ball very well and we turned it over too much and you just can't keep pace with a team like this doing that. Hats off to Missouri Southern. Ther're a really goood basketball team."

The Bronchos shot 40 percent from the floor, but connected on only 6 of 26 threes on the night. Adarius Avery's 24 points and five rebounds led the way for the Bronchos Thursday. Ashford Golden added 17 in his first start of the season.

Missouri Southern jumped out to an early 13-7 lead thanks to three early 3-pointers. The Bronchos kept battling though, making a 10-0 to take the lead in the first 10 minutes.

Golden knocked down a 3-pointer, then earned a layup before Avery made two buckets from close. Alex Ogunseye knocked down a baseline jumper to make it 17-13 UCO with 11:40 to play in the first half.

But that Central run forced a MSSU timeout and the Lions responded in a big way. After a little back-and-forth, Central Oklahoma led 19-16. Then Missouri Southern went on a crushing 18-0 run that included fastbreak layups, dunks, and more MSSU 3-pointers.

Central found itself in a 44-25 hole at halftime. The Bronchos shot just 32.4 percent from the floor in the first half on 11 of 34. But had to face Southern's 16-for-30 first half that included 7 of 15 made shots from behind the arc.

The second half was more of the same. Central Oklahoma did shoot the ball better in the early minutes of the half, but Missouri Southern kept up its steallar play, leading by as many as 23 at the first media timeout. The lead was 26 at the next timeout, and 28 after that. The biggest deficit was 31 points with two minutes.

Dashon Bell added six points off the bench Thursday. Jaylan Williams scored five, while Ogunseye added four. Marquis Johnson (three) and Josh Holliday (two) rounded out the scoring for the Bronchos.

Central Oklahoma is now 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in league play. The Bronchos continue their season-opening conference road trip in Kansas this weekend, playing at Pittsburg State on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m.
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