Men's Basketball 1/9/2024 10:00:00 AM Chris Brannick

Bronchos Host Northeastern State

Central Oklahoma Welcomes NSU To Hamilton Field House Wednesday Night

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma has just two home games in the month of January and the first is against Northeastern State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. inside Hamilton Field House.

UCO, ranked No. 12 in the country this season, is 13-3 overall and has a 5-3 record in the MIAA. The Riverhawks from Tahlequah, Oklahoma come to Edmond with a 5-8 overall record and an 0-7 mark in league play.

"It should be a good game and we're going to have to work for it if we want to get a win," UCO head men's coach Bob Hoffman said. "Records never matter when these two teams get together. They're a good team. We need to focus on our gameplan and doing what we know can give us a chance."

Central Oklahoma owns a 94-55 advantage in the all-time series with MIAA rival Northeastern State and has a five-game win streak in the series dating back two seasons. Hoffman dropped his first four contests against NSU in 2019-20 & 2020-21 but has responded with five straight wins in 2021-22 & 2022-23.

The Bronchos welcome NSU to Hamilton Wednesday night looking for an official win streak. The Bronchos dropped back-to-back games in the regular season for the first time in three years before earning a big road win at Emporia State this past weekend.

Central Oklahoma is averaging 79.8 points per game this season and the Bronchos have a plus-16.5 scoring margin only allowing 63.3 points per game. The Bronchos rank first in the MIAA in scoring margin, second in scoring offense, and third in scoring defense. UCO also ranks sixth nationally in scoring defense and 11th in the country in scoring margin.

The Bronchos shoot 46.7 percent from the floor overall and 36.7 percent from behind the 3-point line with an average of 8.1 made 3-pointers per game. UCO shoots 73.3 percent from the free-throw line and averages 14.9 makes from the stripe per game.

Defensively, Central is allowing 63.3 points per game and opponents shoot 40.7 percent against the Bronchos. Opponents shoot 29.9 percent from behind the arc with 6.1 makes per game, and 71.1 percent at the line with 12.3 made free-throws per game against UCO.

Jaden Wells, Danquez Dawsey, and Luke Haasl lead Central Oklahoma on both ends of the floor. The trio of starters are some of the best in the country and have been big for UCO through 16 games this season.

Wells is the leading scorer, averaging 17.8 points per game. He has 1,498 career points and is set to become just the seventh player in school history to reach 1,500 points. Wells recently became Central's all-time 3-point leader with 264 made threes in his career. He has 44 this season and is a 35.8 percent shooter from behind the arc. Wells also leads the Bronchos with 33 steals and ranks ninth in the country with that mark.

Dawsey is the second-leading scorer but the point guard is the facilitator of it all for UCO. The true junior is averaging 14.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. Dawsey is the only player in the country with 100 assists this season. He is also shooting the ball well, hitting 44.1 percent overall, 43.8 percent from behind the arc, and 82.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Haasl is shooting better than most people in Division II. The junior big man is averaging 10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game this season. He is shooting 63.2 percent overall, making 72 of 114 shots on the year. Haasl ranks 10th in the country with 30 blocked shots this year and that mark is also second in the MIAA.

While that trio has been big for Central, the Bronchos use several players to accomplish their winning ways.

Mike Quick Jr. is averaging 8.2 points per game this season as the sixth man for UCO. Quick Jr. scored a career-high 20 points Saturday in Central's win at Emporia State. He also has two 19-point games and two 12-point games this season. Quick Jr. is shooting 51.7 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from behind the 3-point line, and 61.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Jayln Turner, a fifth-year senior with 131 career games played, is having his best season yet. The forward is averaging 5.4 points per game this season to go along with 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steal per game. Turner averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds for his career entering this season.

Matthew Willenborg, Majok Majouk, and Parker Hannah have all been key additions to the lineup for Central. Willenborg, a true freshman, is averaging 5.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Majouk, a third-year sophomore transfer from Southwest Minnesota State, is averaging 4.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game. And Hannah, another true freshman, is averaging 4.4 points per game.

Preston Aymond, who started the first 15 games of the year before missing Saturday's contest at Emporia, is also averaging 4.1 points per game and is the second-leading rebounder at 4.9 boards per game.

Northeastern State is averaging 70.0 points per game and the Riverhawks shoot 46.2 percent overall. NSU shoots 35.3 percent from behind the 3-point line and averages 7.5 made threes per game. The Riverhawks shoot 70.4 percent from the free-throw line and average 10.6 makes per game there.

Anthony Allen leads NSU at 14.8 points per game and also averages 5.6 rebounds per contest. Try Quartlebaum (12.0) and Caison Hartloff (10.1) also average double figures scoring the basketball. Jaxon Jones and Ethan Blackmon add 9.7 points per game. Blackmon leads the team in rebounds at 5.8 boards per game.

Central Oklahoma has two MIAA home games this week. The Bronchos are hosting NSU Wednesday night and will welcome Rogers State to Hamilton Field House on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Hillcats of Claremore, Oklahoma have a 6-7 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the MIAA. RSU plays at Newman Wednesday night.

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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

#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

#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