Sports
UCO men top Fort Hays State at NCAA tourney
STEPHENVILLE, Texas � Not even a case of pre-tournament food poisoning could stop Central Oklahoma�s postseason run Saturday afternoon.
The No. 21-ranked Bronchos, who had half the team and the entire coaching staff fall ill Thursday night after eating at a local restaurant, held off Fort Hays State 65-64 in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional for their fourth straight postseason win.
UCO, which won three games to capture the Lone Star Conference Tournament title last week, set a school record for wins in improving to 26-5 in its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Bronchos advance to Sunday�s 5 p.m. semifinals against Northwest Missouri, which routed St. Edward's in its first-round contest.
�We�ve faced a lot of adversity this year, but this weekend is the ultimate adversity,� said UCO coach Terry Evans, whose team has won 17 of its last 18 games. �We had some guys still sick coming into this game and our guys showed that we may not be the best team in the region but we�re definitely the toughest. It was a great win for us.�
Michael Sosanya came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points for the Bronchos, hitting 9-of-10 free throws � including 7-of-8 in the second half � and adding seven rebounds. Leading scorer Sam Belt was held to 14 points while adding seven boards and Lance Harper had 11 points and six rebounds.
Terry Tucker was another big contributor off the bench with nine points and Neal finished with seen points and five assists.
�Coach told me to post-up deep and that nothing could hold me back,� Sosanya said. �I put that in my mind and kept it there the entire game.�
The Bronchos never trailed in the second half and had a nine-point lead at 57-48 with 4:45 before surviving some tense moments down the stretch, with Neal and Eric Cazenave hitting clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds to secure the win.
FHSU pulled within 61-58 at the 1:05 mark after a Jake Sims 3-pointer and both teams missed shots on their next possessions before Neal nailed two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to make it 63-58.
The Tigers got a 3-pointer from Tyrone Evans at 0:07 to pull within two points and then quickly fouled Cazenave. He made both foul shots with five seconds to play to push UCO�s lead to 65-61 and those became vital when Greg Schmidt hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bring FHSU within one.
UCO made just one 3-pointer in the contest, finishing 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) from long range. The Bronchos came through at the line, hitting 28-of-36 (77.8 percent) of their free throws.
A Tyler Phillips free throw and Belt jumper gave UCO a quick 3-0 lead to start the game, but the Tigers came back with a 10-0 run to take a 10-3 lead and the Tigers led 17-9 with 12:48 left in the half.
The Bronchos came back with a 10-2 run, tying it on two Sosanya free throws at the 7:51 mark, and Belt gave UCO a 26-25 lead with 3:25 remaining on a short jumper en route to a 31-26 halftime advantage.
FHSU rallied to tie it at 40, but back-to-back layups by Sosanya and Tucker put the Bronchos in front to stay 44-40 and Sosanya�s three-point play made it 57-48 with 4:45 left before the Tigers made it interesting down the stretch.
- Sports
-
-
Lady Antlers bounce back with win over El Reno
The Deer Creek girls’ defense proved to be too much for El Reno on Monday night. The No. 7-ranked Lady Antlers forced a barrage of turnovers as they got back on track with a 58-33 win at the Leroy Estes Field House.
-
Santa Fe boys top Choctaw, Lady Wolves suffer second loss of season
The No. 1-ranked Santa Fe boys basketball team rolled to another easy win on Saturday night knocking off Choctaw 80-55 on the road.
-
Noth escapes Mustang
Down by a point going into the fourth quarter Kevin Korstjens’ No. 3-ranked Edmond North Lady Huskies didn’t panic on the road at Mustang on Monday night. Instead they turned up the defensive pressure and got the ball into Elizabeth Donohoe, who had a career night, winning 59-43.
-
El Reno top Antlers 72-60
The Deer Creek boys did their best to hang with El Reno, but in the end the Indians’ backcourt pressure was too much. The No. 9-ranked Indians pulled in front by double digits in the second half before holding off the Antlers for a 72-60 win Monday night at the Leroy Estes Fieldhouse.
-
Southern Nazarene tops Lady Eagles
The Oklahoma Christian women’s basketball team used a second half rally to pull within two against Southern Nazarene University, but couldn’t close the gap. The Crimson Storm used a 14-3 run in the final 13 minutes of the game for a 70-53 win Saturday night at the Sawyer Center.
-
Local wrestling teams staying west for regionals
Local high school wrestling teams will not have to travel far for regionals, which are set for Feb. 19-20. All three Edmond schools will compete at Yukon in the Class 6A West Regional while Deer Creek is set to host the 5A West Regional again this year.
-
Saints win in a Brees, 31-17
With the Colts unable to provide enough of a pass rush, former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and fired two touchdowns to earn game Most Valuable Player honors as the New Orleans Saints posted a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium.
-
Upset bid falls short for OC men
The Oklahoma Christian University men delivered a few scares Saturday night, but didn’t have enough to upset No. 6-ranked Southern Nazarene. The Crimson Storm’s tough play upfront proved to be too much for No. 16 Eagles as they held on for a 64-54 win at the Sawyer Center.
-
Lady Antlers top rival Guthrie 54-33
The Deer Creek girl’s basketball team had no trouble in their first game back since winning the Bruce Gray Invitational two weeks ago. The No. 7-ranked Lady Antlers cruised past rival Guthrie on Friday night, winning 54-33.
-
North uses big second half to top Putnam City
The No. 3-ranked Edmond North girls shook off a slow first half start Friday night and pulled out a 61-44 road win over Putnam City.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Lady Antlers bounce back with win over El Reno
