Box Score
KINGSVILLE, Texas (Jan. 3) -- A self-destructive overtime period led to Central Oklahoma's demise here Saturday afternoon as Texas A&M-Kingsville handed the No. 12-ranked Bronchos a stunning 81-77 setback.
UCO did little right in the five-minute extra session, missing all five field goal attempts and committing five turnovers while scoring its only three points from the free throw line. The Javelinas, who forced overtime on a layup with 5.7 seconds left in regulation that tied the game 74-all, took the lead early in OT and never trailed.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak and dropped the Bronchos to 9-2 on the season in their first game since Dec. 20. TAMUK, which was just 7-20 last season, improved to 8-4 with its fourth consecutive win.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and it was,” said UCO coach Guy Hardaker, whose team was hampered by a season-high 27 turnovers. “Kingsville has been playing really well and we made a lot of mistakes that we just couldn't overcome.”
Rose Anderson led UCO with 17 points, hitting 6-of-11 shots with a pair of 3-pointers. Mallory Markus added 11 points and six rebounds, while Traci Murphree had 10 points and seven boards off the bench.
Senior standout Lizzie Brenner was limited to 2-of-11 shooting from the field and didn't attempt a free throw in scoring four points with four rebounds before fouling out late in the game.
There were 13 lead changes and seven ties in the back-and-forth contest that the Bronchos led 38-35 at halftime. It was close throughout the second half, with UCO taking a 74-70 lead on two Anderson free throws with 1:05 remaining.
TAMUK got two free throws from LaKeisha Jones with 50 seconds left to pull within 74-72 and rebounded a UCO miss at 0:21 to set up its tying shot. #Krista Beaty blocked a 3-point try at 0:11, but the ball went out of bounds and Jones made the tying layup at :05.7 to send the game into overtime.
The Bronchos return to action Thursday, hosting Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. in a game that was originally scheduled for 6 p.m.
