Game Statistics
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Dec. 1) – Chris Rhymes made three clutch free throws in the final nine seconds and Eric Cazenave came up with yet another big play at the end against Tarleton State to lift Central Oklahoma to a thrilling 76-72 victory over the Texans here Tuesday night.
Rhymes made 1-of-2 foul shots with nine seconds remaining to give the Bronchos a 74-72 lead, then Cazenave forced a TSU turnover with four ticks left that led to two clinching free throws by Rhymes as UCO overcame a 12-point second-half deficit for its third straight win.
Cazenave's last-second defensive play was the fourth straight time he's played a key role in a victory over the Texans. He made the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 77-76 win in the South Central Regional finals in 2008, scored 23 points in a 79-68 home triumph early last season and made two crucial defensive plays in the final 30 seconds of a 77-76 overtime win in the first round of last year's Lone Star Conference Tournament.
“We made some big plays down the stretch and pulled out a great win on the road against a really good team,” UCO coach Terry Evans said. “We never panicked when we got behind and stayed focused on what we needed to do.”
The Bronchos, who improved to 4-2 heading into Thursday's game at No. 23-ranked Midwestern State, trailed by 12 (52-40) with 14:21 left to play before getting five points from Shane Carroll in a 13-2 run to pull within 54-53 at the 9:19 mark.
It was back-and-forth the rest of the way, with Cazenave scoring seven straight points during one stretch to give the Bronchos a 62-60 lead with 4:28 left. The game was tied at 62, 65 and 68 before UCO went ahead to stay on a short Rhymes jumper with 1:44 remaining that made it 70-68.
Rhymes answered a Tarleton free throw with two of his own at 0:49 to up the advantage to 72-69 and Dauntae Williams made 1-of-2 charity tosses at 0:26 for a 73-69 lead. The Texans nailed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to pull within 73-72 and promptly fouled Rhymes, who made one foul shot at 0:09 to make it 74-72.
Cazenave then knocked the ball away to Blake Livingston for a steal and Rhymes was fouled with two seconds left, with the senior making both free throws to wrap up the win.
Cazenave hit 6-of-9 shots with a pair of 3-pointers and all five free throw tries in scoring a game-high 19 points off the bench to lead the Bronchos. Williams added 15 points and a game-leading eight rebounds, Carroll chipped in 13 points and Livingston had 11, while Rhymes scored all eight of his points in the final two minutes.
UCO committed just 10 turnovers in the contest and held a slight 39-37 rebounding edge while shooting 44.9 percent (22-of-49) from the field and 75.0 percent (27-of-36) from the line.
