Box Score

Central Okla. CentOK 20-11,12-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Pittsburg St. PittSt 20-9,15-7 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Central Okla. CentOK

20-11,12-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Final

Mar. 08, 2024

Pittsburg St. PittSt

20-9,15-7 Mid-America Intercollegiate

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Central Okla. CentOK	37	28	65
Pittsburg St. PittSt	48	36	84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/8/2024 11:06:00 PM | Chris Brannick

UCO Season Ends In Quarterfinals

Bronchos Catch Hot-Shooting Pitt State Team In MIAA Basketball Championship Quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Central Oklahoma caught a scorching Pittsburg State squad in the MIAA Basketball Championship quarterfinals Thursday and saw its season come to a close with an 84-65 loss.

UCO finished the 2023-24 season with a 20-11 record.

Central Oklahoma, which was the No. 6 seed in the tournament, shot 38.2 percent from the floor and just 26.9 percent from behind the 3-point line. Pittsburg State, the No. 3 seed, shot 57.7 percent overall and 52.4 percent from deep.

"What they did was unbelievable and we just couldn't keep up with that," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "They couldn't miss. We didn't shoot the ball very well, but it was going to be hard to keep up with that.

"While this season didn't go the way we wanted it to," Hoffman continued. "We're proud of what we did. We won 20 games for the third year in a row. We made it to the conference tournament. We did a lot of good things. It stinks when it ends like this, but that's basketball."

Friday night, Central Oklahoma dealt with an outstanding display of 3-point shooting by the Gorillas in the first half. Pitt State made its first four 3-pointers before missing one, but then made another four in a row to get to 8-for-9 from behind the arc in the first 13 minutes of the game.

UCO scored the first four points of the game, and led 6-5 soon after, but when Pittsburg State broke an 8-8 tie by going on an 8-0 run, the Gorillas led the rest of the way into halftime.

Central Oklahoma trailed 48-37 at the break.

To start the second half, Pittsburg State continued the offensive onslaught. The Gorillas opened the half on an 11-0 run in the first 2:45, extending the lead from 11 to 22. PSU went 4-for-4 during the stretch, hitting another 3-pointer and a pair of free-throws.

The Bronchos cut the lead back to down to 10 on a few occasions down the stretch but couldn't get any closer.

Jaden Wells led the Bronchos with 23 points and Danquez Dawsey scored 14. Parker Hannah added 10 off the bench to give UCO three in double figures.

Jalyn Turner scored six points, Jarreth Ingram added four, and Caiden Punt and Luke Haasl both scored three points. Matthew Willenborg added two as well.

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