Skip To Main Content

University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Camryn Givens
75
Winner Mo. Southern St. MSSU 1-0,1-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
74
Central Okla. CentOK 0-1,0-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Mo. Southern St. MSSU
1-0,1-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate
75
Final
74
Central Okla. CentOK
0-1,0-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mo. Southern St. MSSU 36 39 75
Central Okla. CentOK 34 40 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Tripped In Season Opener

EDMOND – Camryn Givens had a career night for the Bronchos, but a stumble on the final play of the game proved costly and the University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball time lost 75-74 nail biter to Missouri Southern Thursday night.
 
Givens scored 27 points on 7-for-13 shooting and added 11 of 13 free-throws. All that to go with 12 rebounds for the junior forward from McKinney, Texas.
 
But. Missouri Southern knocked down a jump shot with eight seconds left and Givens, pushing the floor for the final shot, stumbled into a crowd of MSSU players and couldn't keep hold of the ball as time expired.
 
"We played really well tonight but it wasn't enough," UCO head coach Bob Hoffman said. "But we saw a lot of good things for the first game of the season. We can be happy about a few things and now we know what we need to work on to get ready for the next thing."
 
Missouri Southern, which is ranked No. 21 in the country in the NABC Preseason Coaches' Poll, only led by as many as nine points in the game. That came in the second half, 53-44, with still over 13 minutes left in the game. UCO made a short run to follow that, but trailed by nine points again with eight minutes to play, 63-54, and then made its best push of the night.
 
Givens, along with Isaiah Wade, sparked a 9-0 run over the next three minutes. Givens knocked down a jumper to tie the game, 63-63, with 5:20 left in the half.
 
A minute later and after two MSSU free-throws, Callen Haydon tied the game with a layup, 65-65, and drew a foul on the play. He knocked down the free-throw to give Central its first lead in what seemed like ages, 66-65, with 4:04 to go.
 
One more minute later, Givens did the same. His and-1 layup gave Central a 69-65 lead with 3:03 to play.
 
Central built its biggest lead of the game, 73-68, with 1:45 to play when Justin Nimmer put a layup in the basket. But then Southern made its final run.
 
Missouri Southern went 3-for-3 over the final 90 seconds, plus one free-throw, and the Bronchos could only manage one from the stripe for themselves.
 
The ill-timed 7-1 run by the Lions ended with the jump shot with eight seconds left that gave them a 75-74 lead and the win.
 
Nimmer added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists to go with Givens' career night. UCO got points from 11 of 12 players that stepped on the floor.
 
Callen Haydon scored eight and Seth Hurd five. Wade, Colt Savage, Davon Richardson, and D.J. Basey each had four.
 
Central Oklahoma shot 39.3 percent from the floor Thursday night, hitting 24 of 61 shots. The Bronchos hit 6 of 19 threes (26.3 percent) and 21 of 26 free-throws (80.8 percent).
 
UCO is back in action this weekend. The Bronchos host Pittsburg State Saturday at 3:30 p.m. inside Hamilton Field House.
 
 
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad
Skip Sponsors