EDMOND, Okla. - Head Coach
Jason Eaker and former OBU head man, now UCO Head Coach Bob Hoffman celebrated many accomplishments together including an upset win over No. 2 seed Duke Blue Devils at the 2014 NCAA Round of 64.
On Tuesday evening, the two found themselves across from each other as opponents as Eaker's Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team outlasted Hoffman's Central Oklahoma in a thrilling 107-103 victory at Hamilton Field House.
OBU was 36 of 80 (45%) on the night including 17 made 3-pointers while going 20 of 30 (67%) at the free throw line. On the other side, the Bronchos were 31 of 70 (44%) from the field including 5 of 21 (24%) from behind the arc and 38 of 44 (86%) from the charity stripe.
UCO held a 45-42 advantage in rebounds while OBU had an impressive 22 assists on as a team while only turning it over 12 times. OBU forced UCO into 15 turnovers.
It was a back-and-forth contest in the early going with the game tied at 13 in the first six minutes of play. OBU then proceeded to knock down back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers from
Jacque Brown,
Jarius Hicklen, and
Jaquan Simms.
Harrison Stoddart added a pair of free throws to cap an 11-0 run and take a 24-13 lead.
UCO pushed it back down to five, but
Trey Green began to heat up, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers of his own as OBU was able to build a 12 point lead at 35-23 with less than six minutes to play in the half.
Big halves from Hicklen and Stoddart helped push the lead to as many as 14 as OBU went over the half century mark in the first half for the second consecutive contest, taking a 51-38 lead into the break.
UCO began to chip away at the lead early in the second half, but OBU got the lead to as many as 16 points going into the under 12 media timeout. However, the Bronchos kept pushing away throughout the half, looking for the big run.
Down 75-63 with 8:30 to play, UCO went on a 20-6 run to come all the way back and take the lead at 83-81 with 1:32 to play in the contest. OBU would get a huge jumped from Stoddart with a minute to play to even the game and and neither team could find the game winner and a block from Stoddart at the buzzer sent the game to overtime.
It was even first OT for most of the way until 44 seconds to play when UCO took a 91-87 lead.
Rashad Lewis would get a lay in while the Bronchos would go 1 of 2 at the line on their next possession. Simms would step into a 3-pointer and bury it with 18 seconds to play to even the game and send it into double OT.
Simms would hit a 3-pointer to open second OT, but five straight points from UCO put them back up by two before a 3-pointer from Lewis made it 98-97. Lewis followed with another 3-pointer after a UCO score to make it 101-99.Â
After a 3-point play put the Bronchos back on top by one,
Brantly Thompson hit a big time shot of his own from deep to make it 104-102. OBU would get some big times stop from there and win it from the free throw line to go back to Shawnee with the huge 107-103 victory.
Stoddart had a monster game, going 8 of 14 from the field for 24 points to go with 15 boards and five blocks. Thompson added 16 points, seven boards, and three assists while Hicklen scored 15 points with four 3-pointers off the bench.
Lewis added 15 points, six assists, and four steals as he was huge in the overtime period while Simms had 13 points, six assists, and three steals.Â
Dashawn McDowell led UCO with 21 points, five boards, and two steals while Dashon Bell had 19 points. Cam Givens had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
OBU moves to 6-3 on the year and will return to the Noble Complex on Thursday for their final game before the Christmas Break. The Bison welcome in Central Christian with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
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