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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Dashawn McDowell
49
Central Okla. CentOK 7-16,4-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
66
Winner Neb.-Kearney UNK 13-8,7-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Central Okla. CentOK
7-16,4-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
49
Final
66
Neb.-Kearney UNK
13-8,7-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Central Okla. CentOK 31 18 49
Neb.-Kearney UNK 26 40 66

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

Central Downed At Nebraska Kearney

KEARNEY, Neb. – The University of Central Oklahoma men's basketball team went cold in the second half and lost pace in a 66-47 defeat to Nebraska Kearney Thursday night in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play.
 
Central is now 7-16 on the season and 4-10 in the MIAA.
 
Central Oklahoma took an early lead Thursday night and held firm for the first 20 minutes. A quick back and forth in the first five didn't deter a focused Broncho squad. Central went ahead 9-6 on a Camryn Givens 3-pointer with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half and led the rest of the way.
 
UCO led by as many as nine in the first half. The Bronchos scored seven-straight from the under-10 media timeout for a three and a half minute stand. The Bronchos got a layup from Justin Nimmer, a 3-pointer from Dashon Bell, and a layup by Bell to build a 24-15 lead.
 
The Bronchos did hit an early dry spell. After Dashawn McDowell knocked down a jumper with 4:43 to play that gave UCO a 28-20 lead, the Bronchos didn't score again till a Seth Hurd free-throw with 1:13 to play in the half.
 
But Central's defense kept Kearney in check. UCO held the Lopers to 9 of 22 shooting in the first half and forced five turnovers. The Bronchos got a pair of free-throws from Givens with just one second left in the half and he sank both, giving Central a 31-26 halftime lead.
 
Kearney made its run to open the second half. The Bronchos gave up an early layup that cut their lead to three, but after a scoring drought by both teams, Nimmer knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Bronchos ahead 34-28. But at the 12-minute mark, with UNK on a 14-5 run in the second half, the Bronchos called a timeout. UCO had made just one shot in the first eight minutes of the second half and needed to stop the bleeding.
 
UCO still had to wait two more minutes to change the scoreboard and it did that with a pair of Colt Savage free-throws. D.J. Basey's slam dunk with 9:23 to play was just the second Broncho field goal of the second half.
 
UCO wasn't out of it by any means, as its defense continued to keep the Bronchos in the game. Basey's dunk made it 43-40, UNK. But the second-half trend would continue.
 
UNK went on a 7-0 run after Basey's dunk. It was 4:14 before the Bronchos scored again. That came on a Nimmer layup with 5:09 to play. UCO was down 50-42 after that basket.
 
Central couldn't string together enough baskets in the end. The Bronchos shot just 5 of 26 in the second half, hit only 1 of 10 threes. Its 7 of 9 free-throw mark wasn't enough to keep pace.
 
Nimmer's 16 points led the Bronchos Thursday night. The redshirt freshman was 6-for-11 from the floor, 1-for-3 from behind the arc, and hit 3 of 4 free-throws. He added five rebounds and two steals.
 
Givens scored nine points on 2 of 5 shooting to go with six boards and four steals. McDowell scored eight.
 
Central Oklahoma is off to take on Fort Hays State Saturday at 4 p.m. It will be the final road contest of the 2019-20 season for the Bronchos. UCO ends the year with four home games over a three-week period following this weekend.
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