Men's Basketball 12/6/2023 10:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

UCO Hits The Road For MIAA Matchups

Central Oklahoma Plays At Missouri Southern Thursday and Pitt State Saturday

JOPLIN, Mo. – No. 3 Central Oklahoma hits the road this week for a pair of MIAA contests beginning with Missouri Southern Thursday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

UCO is 7-0 on the year with a 2-0 record in the MIAA. The Bronchos will also travel to Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. tipoff scheduled in southeastern Kansas.

The Bronchos hit the road averaging 76.7 points per game this season. In seven games, UCO is shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 41.1 percent from behind the 3-point line with 9.3 makes per game from outside. Central is shooting 71.9 percent from the free-throw line with 14.3 makes per game from the stripe.

Defense has been key for the Bronchos this season with Central Oklahoma ranking No. 1 in Division II scoring defense. Opponents manage 56.7 points per game against UCO. Opponents also shoot 37.7 percent, which puts Central fourth in DII in defensive field-goal percentage. The Bronchos also have the second-best defensive 3-point field-goal percentage (28.4) and are 26th nationally in that category.

UCO is also second in blocks (4.0 per game) and steals (9.0 per game).

Jaden Wells leads the Bronchos with 15 steals in seven games. His 2.1 average is top-five in the league. Wells is also among the league's best after he gets the ball in his hands.

A fourth-year junior from Hurst, Texas, Wells ranks ninth in the country in made 3-pointers per game at 3.5. He's hit 25 threes in seven games and is shooting 47.2 percent from outside the arc. That mark leads the MIAA. Wells has made 251 career 3-pointers on 607 career attempts (41.4 percent). Both makes and attempts are second in school history. Wells needs a dozen 3-pointers to tie Sam Belt's career record (263) for makes. Belt took 698 attempts from 2004-08 setting both records.

Wells has scored at least 12 points in all seven games this season with three 20-point games to start the season. He's made multiple threes (4, 6, 3, 2, 4, 4, 2) in every game this season.

A lot of Wells's success, and all of UCO's offense, is because of the play of Danquez Dawsey. The true junior point guard from Lawton is averaging 11.0 points per game and a DII-best 7.0 assists per game. Dawsey's 49 total assists are the 10th-most in the country. His national-leading average of 7.0 assists per game comes with a 3.5 assist-turnover ratio, which is also Top 20 in the country.

Dawsey also scores in double figures at 11.0 points per game. He is shooting 42.2 percent overall, 38.1 percent behind the arc, and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line. Dawsey has scored in double figures three times this season with a high of 20 on opening weekend.

Luke Haasl, whose 10 steals and nine blocks have been a factor in the defensive success, is also averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Haasl is shooting an astounding 65.2 percent from the floor. He is 30-for-46 through seven games and second in the MIAA in field-goal percentage. Haasl is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game which is also a Top 10 mark in the league.

A trio of players coming off the bench are playing significant roles in the early 2023-24 season. Mike Quick Jr. is averaging 7.3 points per game and averaged 15.5 last week in the first two MIAA games of the year for the Bronchos. Parker Hannah is chipping in 5.3 points per game with two double-digit games in the first seven games of his career. Another freshman, Matthew Willenborg is scoring 4.6 points per game and adds 4.7 rebounds and nearly one block per game.

Jalyn Turner, a fifth-year senior now up to 122 games played, is averaging 4.4 points per game this season along with 1.9 rebounds. Turner has played in all but one game since 2019.

Newcomer Majok Majouk is also averaging 4.4 points per game. Preston Aymond adds 3.7 points and is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game.

Thursday night Missouri Southern welcomes the Bronchos with a 2-6 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the MIAA. MSSU lost its first two league games by a combined five points and is looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

Southern is averaging 72.6 points per game through eight games this season. The Lions shoot 46.4 percent overall and 32.5 percent from behind the 3-point line with 6.6 made threes per game. MSSU shoots 68.9 percent from the free-throw line with 13 makes per game.

Darius Dawson leads the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder too at 7.0 boards per game. Cam Williams (9.8), Vinson Sigmon Jr. (9.6), Avery Taggart (9.3) and Sam Thompson (8.8) add a bulk of the scoring for the Lions.

Missouri Southern leads the all-time series with Central Oklahoma 15-8. UCO won three of the the first four meetings. In 2021, the Bronchos beat Southern twice in five days 105-101 & 109-101. MSSU beat Central twice last season when UCO was fourth and sixth in the national poll. The Bronchos ended Missouri Southern's season last March in the MIAA Basketball Championship quarterfinals.

Central Oklahoma will move on to Pittsburg, Kansas for a Saturday matchup with the Gorillas at Pitt State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. UCO is off next week and will take the court next at the reviving High Desert Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 18-19. The Bronchos play Henderson State and Missouri – St. Louis there at 4 p.m. Pacific in the two-day festival. Those two games are the last non-conference contests for the Bronchos this season. UCO returns home and will host Nebraska Kearney (Dec. 29) and Fort Hays State (Dec. 31) at Hamilton Field House.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Preston Aymond: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#3 Danquez Dawsey: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#11 Luke Haasl: F; 6' 10"; Junior

#0 Mike Quick Jr.: G; 6' 5"; Sophomore

#10 Jalyn Turner: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#2 Jaden Wells: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#5 Majok Majouk: F; 6' 10"; Sophomore

#22 Parker Hannah: G; 6' 2"; Freshman

#21 Matthew Willenborg: F; 6' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Preston Aymond
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#3 Danquez Dawsey
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#11 Luke Haasl
: 6' 10"; Junior
: F

#0 Mike Quick Jr.
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: G

#10 Jalyn Turner
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#2 Jaden Wells
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#5 Majok Majouk
: 6' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#22 Parker Hannah
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: G

#21 Matthew Willenborg
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: F