Box Score

Photo Courtesy of Stephen Coleman

Minn. Duluth UMD 24-9,16-6 NSIC

Central Okla. CentOK 26-6,18-4 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Minn. Duluth UMD

24-9,16-6 NSIC

Final

Mar. 11, 2023

Central Okla. CentOK

26-6,18-4 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Minn. Duluth UMD	25	37	62
Central Okla. CentOK	35	21	56

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/11/2023 2:31:00 PM | Chris Brannick

UCO Season Ends In NCAA First Round

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Central Oklahoma's season came crashing to an end Saturday in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship with a 62-56 loss to Minnesota Duluth.

UCO finished the year 26-6 overall, the third most wins in one season in school history.

"I'm so proud of this team and what they accomplished this season," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "I wish I could have done more for them today. Credit to Duluth, they're a really good team. I'm proud of our guys and everything we were able to accomplish to make it to this point."

Central Oklahoma had a 35-25 halftime lead and held the lead in the game for 28:13 of the total 40 minutes. But a bitter cold second half and a late rally by Duluth left the Bronchos stunned at Northwest Missouri's Bearcat Arena.

UCO took a 49-46 lead with seven minutes on the clock when Danquez Dawsey hit a pair of free-throws. Unfortunately, the Bronchos didn't score again for nearly four minutes. When Duluth hit a 3-pointer to go ahead 51-48, their first lead since 13-12 in the first half, the Bulldogs of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference never trailed again.

Camryn Givens hit two free-throws with 3:13 to play to make it 53-51, then he made an and-1 layup to cut the lead to three, 57-54, with 1:55 left in the game. But that would be the last time the ball went through the net for Central Oklahoma. Minnesota Duluth made one more jumper and three free-throws in the dying seconds to close out the win.

Givens led Central Oklahoma with 12 points on Saturday. He finishes his career at UCO with 1,444 points, which ranks as the seventh most in school history. Givens also had five rebounds and two blocks in the game.

Dawsey scored 11 points to go with two assists and two steals, and Jaden Wells had nine points and six rebounds.

Curtis Haywood had the story of the day for the Bronchos in the box score. The senior nearly had a triple-double in the first half and flirted with a quadruple double. His final line – 10 points, 10 steals, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Preston Aymond added six points for the Bronchos, Jalyn Turner had four, and Luke Haasl and Tre'Veon Ellis both scored two points.

Central Oklahoma shot just 30.5 percent from the floor on Saturday, including 20 percent in the second half (5-for-25). The Bronchos were 4-for-15 from behind the arc in the game.

Print Friendly Version