Skip To Main Content

University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Adarius Avery
84
Central Oklahoma UCO 8-7, 1-5 MIAA
90
Winner Fort Hays State FHSU 11-4, 5-1 MIAA
Central Oklahoma UCO
8-7, 1-5 MIAA
84
Final
90
Fort Hays State FHSU
11-4, 5-1 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Oklahoma UCO 40 44 84
Fort Hays State FHSU 38 52 90

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Haley Eldridge

UCO Comes Up Short At Fort Hays State

FORT HAYS, Kan. – The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team lost 90-84 to Fort Hays State on Saturday in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association action. 

"It was a tough loss." UCO head coach Tom Hankins said. "We played well on the offensive end, but needed more stops on the defense side of the ball. We let them have too many easy points." 

The Bronchos move to 8-7 overall and 1-5 in MIAA play. 

Adarius Avery led the Bronchos with 26 points and 12 rebounds. He went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line. 

Ashford Golden had 23 points and five rebounds. Marquis Johnson added 12 points and Jordan Hemphill, 11. 

The Bronchos shot 46 percent from the field and made 23-28 from the free-throw line. The UCO defense forced 12 turnovers for Fort Hays. 

The first half started out with a 6-0 lead for the Tigers after knocking down two back-to-back three-point field goals. The Bronchos answered with a three from Golden and then Avery drew the foul on a layup in the paint, knocking down both free-throws making the score 6-6. 

Fort Hays had the lead the entire first half until seconds left on the clock. Their biggest lead was nine with seven minutes to go. The Tigers knocked down 9 of 14 three's, shooting 64 percent from three-point range. The Bronchos had good defense in the first half, only giving Fort Hays two chances at the free-throw line, which they went 1-4 from. UCO got 15 of their points off of Tiger turnovers. 

The Bronchos did a nice job in the first half of getting in the paint and drawing the fouls. They went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line. UCO tied the ball game with 12 minutes left when Avery knocked down two free shots. Fort Hays continued to answer by scoring big buckets from the three-point range. 

With a little over one-minute left, Golden knocked down a three to chip FHSU's lead to just four. The UCO defense forced a turnover to get the ball back. The Bronchos came down and got two second chances from crashing the offensive boards and dishing it to Golden for another three, to make the score 36-35. 

Fort Hays got an easy layup on their end with thirty seconds left in the half, but after that, Johnson drove into the paint scoring a bucket and drawing a foul. FHSU's head coach was not happy about the call and earned himself a technical foul. Johnson knocked down the free-throws and UCO got their first lead of the game 40-38 just seconds before heading in for halftime.  

The second half went like the first with the back and forth buckets on both ends. Both teams come out of halftime knocking down two jumpers to make the score 42-40. Fort Hays took their first lead of the second half from a three-point field goal. The Bronchos wouldn't regain the lead again. 

Fort Hays took advantage of the tight man UCO was playing and scored off of the pick and roll. With 16:22 left, UCO chips Fort Hays lead to just one from a jumper in the paint by Avery. The game continued to be back and forth, both teams taking advantage when they got the ball in the paint. Fort Hays had their biggest lead of the game with 13 minutes left after knocking down a three-pointer to make the score 62-52. 

The Bronchos never gave up, continuing to chip the score. They had some poor fouls in the front court, giving Fort Hays free shot opportunities. Fort Hays led by just two with five minutes left, but the Bronchos couldn't answer when they needed to. UCO gave up easy layups in the last five minutes, then began to foul trying to get the ball back. The Bronchos offense continued to penetrate the lane to get to the foul line, but the defense couldn't stop Fort Hays.  

The Bronchos are back in action with two home games next week. They will take on Pittsburg State on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Missouri Southern on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 3:30 p.m. 
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad
Skip Sponsors