Box Score
WEATHERFORD, Okla. (Jan. 17) – Eric Cazenave scored a career-high 28 points and Lance Harper added 20 as No. 4-ranked Central Oklahoma overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to rally past Southwestern Oklahoma 83-76 here Saturday afternoon.
It was the third straight come-from-behind win for the Bronchos, who trailed 43-32 at halftime and 48-34 early in the second half before unleashing a 23-4 run to surge in front en route to the crucial road victory.
UCO improved to 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference North Division with its fifth consecutive win in a rugged contest that featured 63 fouls – including four technicals -- and 78 free throws. The Bulldogs fell to 10-6 and 1-1.
“I was really proud of our guys for the way they fought today,” UCO coach Terry Evans said. “We got down to a good team, but we kept playing hard and just wore 'em down. We showed a lot of toughness today and it was a great road win for us.”
Cazenave hit 9-of-20 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and 8-of-11 free throws in his 28-point outing and he also pulled down a career-best eight rebounds while adding six assists and four steals in 38 minutes of play.
Harper was just 4-of-7 from the field, but he made 12-of-16 foul shots in finishing with 20 points to go with six rebounds. The Bronchos also got 12 points and nine rebounds from David Thomas.
Defense was again the key, with UCO holding the Bulldogs to 29.6-percent (8-of-27) shooting in the final 20 minutes.
The Bronchos trailed 43-32 at the break and were down 48-34 two minutes into the second half before rallying.
DeAngelo Garrett started UCO's big scoring spurt with a layup at the 17:09 mark, Thomas followed an SWOSU miss with a 3-pointer and the Bronchos were off and running.
The Bulldogs still led by seven (51-44) at the 14:11 mark, but Harper scored eight points on three layups and two free throws and Cazenave added five points in a 3:11 span as UCO scored 13 unanswered points to seize a 57-52 lead with 11:00 left to play.
SWOSU came back to take a 60-59 lead with 9:17 remaining, but the Bronchos went ahead to stay on a Michael Sosanya layup at 9:01. UCO upped the lead to 67-60 when Keith Marks drilled a 3-pointer at the 6:54 mark and it became a big 15-point cushion at 76-61 on a Cazenave layup with 4:18 left.
The Bronchos coasted in from there, with SWOSU scoring the game's five points to get within the final seven-point margin.
UCO continues LSC North Division action Wednesday, traveling to Ada to face East Central at 8 p.m.
