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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Marquis Johnson
65
Central Okla. UCO 8-11, 1-9 MIAA
78
Winner Lincoln (MO) LU 13-5, 6-3 MIAA
Central Okla. UCO
8-11, 1-9 MIAA
65
Final
78
Lincoln (MO) LU
13-5, 6-3 MIAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Okla. UCO 34 31 65
Lincoln (MO) LU 39 39 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Haley Eldridge

Central Oklahoma Falls Short At Lincoln

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma lost 78-65 to Lincoln on Saturday afternoon. The Bronchos move to 8-11 overall and 1-9 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. 

"That was a tough team to beat." UCO head coach Tom Hankins said. "Lincoln is doing a really good job this year. And we aren't. We've got some things we need to get corrected so we can start winning some games."

Adarius Avery led the way for the Bronchos with 23 points and 12 rebounds - his 11th double-double on the season. Jordan Hemphill and Ashford Golden added 10 points each. Josh Holliday had nine. 

UCO shot 44.8 percent on the day and had 26 rebounds. The team averages a free-throw percentage of 80 on the season but shot 45 percent from the free-throw line against Lincoln Saturday. The Bronchos had eight steals on the day versus Lincolns four. Despite the loss, the UCO defense forced fifteen turnovers. 

Lincoln got a head start on UCO in the first half, knocking down a jumper within eight seconds of start time. It wasn't long after that the Bronchos answered with a 3-point field goal from Hemphill after great ball movement. The game continued to go back and forth. 

The Bronchos biggest lead was 7-2 with 15 minutes left in the half. Lincoln continued to knock down big 3-pointers, not allowing UCO to keep the lead long. The Blue Tigers led by as many as 11 in the first half, but UCO would chip and chip at that score. With seconds to go before the half ended, Avery's defense forced a Lincoln turnover which allowed him to go baseline to baseline for a big dunk to shorten Lincolns lead to 39-34 at halftime. 

UCO shot 43 percent from the field in the first half. Despite being down at halftime, the Bronchos defense forced seven turnovers on Lincoln which resulted in 11 UCO points. The Blue Tigers played a zone defense forcing the Bronchos to take outside shots. 

Coming out from halftime, the Bronchos turned it over and gave possession back to Lincoln and they took it in for an easy layup to extend the lead two more. The second went back-and-fort, a lot like the first. The Bronchos pulled within three of Lincoln with seven minutes left after Avery scored a big jumper to make it 56-53.

With five minutes to go and UCO down four, they allowed the Blue Tigers to get an offensive rebound and put back to go up six. The Bronchos continued to push and Jaylan Williams knocked down a big three-point field goal, trying to keep UCO in the game, but the Blue Tigers answered with a three on their end. That would be the closest the Bronchos would get. 

The Bronchos are back in action on Thursday, Jan. 31 against Southwest Baptist at 7:30 p.m. and then Central Missouri on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m. 
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