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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Justin Nimmer
73
Fort Hays St. FHSU 13-14,6-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
80
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 10-17,7-11 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Fort Hays St. FHSU
13-14,6-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
73
Final
80
Central Okla. CentOK
10-17,7-11 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Fort Hays St. FHSU 33 36 4 73
Central Okla. CentOK 33 36 11 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Outlast Fort Hays State In Overtime Thriller

EDMOND – The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team came out on the right end of an MIAA slugfest at Hamilton Field House Thursday night, beating Fort Hays State 80-73 in overtime.
 
Central Oklahoma clinched a postseason berth with the win. The Bronchos will wrap up the regular season Saturday against Nebraska Kearney in Edmond, and now have extended their time by at least one week. UCO will head to Kansas City, Mo. for the MIAA Tournament beginning next Wednesday.
 
"I am so proud of my guys for the way they have fought," UCO head coach Bob Hoffman said. "Their resiliency has amazed me. We lost a lot of games in row and they never quit fighting and now we've got a little win streak going and we made the postseason. When you have tough years, things like this matter so much and these guys are growing so much. It's great to see. You love to see it."
 
Central Oklahoma is in eighth place in the MIAA league standings heading into Saturday's finale. The Bronchos play seventh-place UNK and though Central can't get higher than eighth even with a win, UCO can't drop any lower than ninth regardless of any outcome this weekend.
 
Central needed an extra period to overcome Hays Thursday. The Bronchos and the Tigers were tied 33-33 after the first 20 minutes, and 69-69 after the second 20 minutes, but an 11-4 burst by Central in overtime was more than enough.
 
Justin Nimmer led UCO with 21 points on the night, hitting 8 of 11 shots, one 3-pointer, and four free-throws. The redshirt freshman added 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Dashon Bell scored 12 points, leading the team with five made free-throws, and Carson Calavan added 10 points off the bench, hitting two 3-pointers and adding four free-throws as well.
 
Central hit 27 of 53 shots Thursday night, 7 of 19 from behind the arc, and went 19-for-29 from the free-throw line to earn the victory.
 
Thursday's game saw three first-half lead changes, a back and forth that continued all game. The Bronchos never got out in front too much, leading by as much as five points, but Fort Hays never did either, with UCO's largest first-half deficit just 10 points, 26-16. Central responded to that with a 17-10 run over the final 8:33 to close out the half.
 
Central got a layup by Camryn Givens as time expired in the first half to tie the game 33-33. The bucket followed a missed 3-point attempt by Cooper Clark, but after FHSU got a rebound, Nimmer stole the ball back for the Bronchos and dished it to Givens for the layup.
 
UCO also got a boost from a technical foul that was whistled as time expired. Clark sank a free-throw out of the halftime to give the Bronchos a 34-33 to start the second half.
 
The second half kept the intensity. The teams traded leads nine times in the second 20 minutes, and saw the game tied six times. UCO led by as many as six in the second half, 51-45, but Fort Hays took its turn responding to a deficit and rallied with a 10-2 run to take a 55-53 lead with 9:20 to play.
 
Hays led 57-56 with 7:59 to play before Calavan hit the first of his two 3-pointers. He made the game's next basket, with his second three of the night, with 4:58 to play. That gave the Bronchos a 62-57 lead.
 
The game was tied 62-62, 66-66, and 69-69 all in the final minute. A layup and-1 for Fort Hays State tied it at 69. Bell missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
 
UCO hit 3 of 4 shots in the extra period, 5 of 9 free-throws and forced Fort Hays into a dismal 2-for-9 shooting performance in the final five minutes as the Bronchos won going away for the third straight game.
 
Central Oklahoma also got nine points from Dashawn McDowell, eight from both Givens and D.J. Basey, and six from Colt Savage, who hit a pair of 3-pointers. Clark chipped in four and Alex Ogunseye added two off the bench.
 
Central Oklahoma will host Nebraska Kearney Saturday at Hamilton Field House. Clark and Bell will be honored in a senior day ceremony before the 3:30 p.m. tipoff.
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