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University of Central Oklahoma Athletics

The Official Site of Central Oklahoma University Athletics Central Oklahoma Athletics
Brady Hancuff
86
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 13-2,4-2 Mid-America Intercollegiate
93
Winner Central Okla. CentOK 11-7,4-2 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS
13-2,4-2 Mid-America Intercollegiate
86
Final
93
Central Okla. CentOK
11-7,4-2 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Ark.-Fort Smith UAFS 30 50 6 86
Central Okla. CentOK 36 44 13 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Brannick

UCO Upsets No. 5 Fort Smith In Overtime

Bronchos Win MIAA Thriller In Edmond

EDMOND – Central Oklahoma upset No. 5 Arkansas Fort Smith 93-86 in overtime Saturday afternoon in an MIAA thriller at Hamilton Field House.
 
UCO improved to 11-7 with the win and is now 4-2 in the MIAA. The Bronchos continue a four-game homestand with two more matchups next week.
 
Central Oklahoma needed overtime for the second game in a row and like Wednesday against Northeastern came away with the win.
 
"The fight our guys are showing right now is incredible," UCO head men's basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. "To put so much effort into Wednesday night's game and for this to be the same battle, to see our guys find a way to get it done was incredible. I'm so proud of the guys."
 
UCO led for the first 30 minutes of the game. Fort Smith earned its first lead, 57-56, with 9:36 remaining in regulation. There would be four lead changes in the next three minutes.
 
Central got the last of those four and then went on a run, hitting a 3-pointer with 3:33 to play that put the Bronchos up by nine points, 77-68. But then Fort Smith answered with a 12-0 run to go up by three, 80-77, with 14 seconds remaining in the second half.
 
Marcus Zeigler Jr. brought the ball up the floor, took it to the right wing, and pulled up for a game-tying 3-pointer with 6.9 remaining. Fort Smith's buzzer beater was no good and extra time was put on the clock.
 
Central Oklahoma jumped out to an 84-80 lead in the first two minutes of overtime. Matthew Willenborg hit a big 3-pointer to make it a five-point game, then a pair of free-throws to extend the lead to seven, 91-84, with 20 seconds to play. Parker Hannah made two free-throws with 17 seconds remaining to make it the final, 93-86.
 
Willenborg led Central Oklahoma with 27 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. He also had two steals. The junior forward from Norman, who scored 37 on Wednesday night, was 5-for-12 from the field on Saturday. He made three 3-pointers and 14 of 16 at the free-throw line.
 
Hannah scored 17 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers. He was 7-for-9 at the free-throw line. Zeigler scored 15 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers, and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
 
The Bronchos also got a huge 14-point game from Brady Hancuff off the bench. The true freshman from Edmond was 6-for-10 from the floor and also had three rebounds.
 
Ben Averitt joined the others in double figures with 10 points, going 3-for-3 from the floor. He was 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line and kept the perfect day going making both of his free-throw attempts.
 
Jack Robinson chipped in eight points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Trey Tuck also scored two points.
 
Central Oklahoma shot 45.5 percent overall, going 25-for-55, and was better outside, making 11 of 22 3-point attempts for a 50.0 percent rate. The Bronchos were 32-for-40 from the free-throw line Saturday, an 80.0 percent mark.
 
Central jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led by as many as nine points in the first 10 minutes of the game. UCO led by 12 points with three minutes to play in the first half and took a 36-30 lead into halftime.
 
The Bronchos got the lead back up to 10 early in the second half before a long Fort Smith rally (27-16 over nine minutes) made things interesting in the final 10 minutes of the second half.
 
UCO continues a four-game homestand next week with games against Missouri Southern Wednesday night and Pittsburg State Saturday afternoon. The Bronchos split a road trip with the two schools in December. Saturday's game against Pitt State will be played at 1:30 p.m. as the MIAA Game of the Week live on 38 The Spot in Kansas City.
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