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Overtime Agony

Cal Andrews
Box Score

EDMOND (Jan. 16) – Central Oklahoma missed four crucial free throws down the stretch and Fort Hays State made up a six-point deficit in the final 36 seconds of regulation before handing the Bronchos a stunning 101-97 overtime setback Thursday night at Hamilton Field House.
 
UCO appeared in control after going ahead 89-83 on Aaron Anderson's conventional three-point with 47 seconds remaining, but the Tigers went 5-of-5 from the line and made a long 3-pointer the rest of the way while the Bronchos made just 2-of-6 foul shots as regulation ended in a 91-91 stalemate.
 
FHSU then scored the first six points of overtime to surge ahead for the first time since midway through the first half and a short-handed UCO squad couldn't answer back.
 
The Bronchos, who suited up and played just eight players because of injury, fell to 10-5 on the season and 4-4 in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play.  FHSU improved to 13-3 and 5-3.
 
"That was a tough one to lose," head coach Terry Evans said.  "We played hard, but got a little tired and made some mistakes at the end that hurt us."
 
Josh Gibbs led the Bronchos with 25 points and nine rebounds before fouling out late in regulation.  Aaron Anderson made 8-of-10 shots from the field in a 22-point, four-assist outing and Seth Heckart nailed five 3-pointers in scoring 17 points while adding six rebounds and four assists.
 
UCO also got 13 points apiece from Cal Andrews and Jacob Richardson.
 
The Bronchos led 45-34 at halftime and made it 47-34 in the opening seconds of the second half when Andrews drove the baseline and threw down his second impressive one-handed slam dunk of the game.
 
FHSU answered with a 12-2 run to make it 49-46, but UCO stayed in front  and went up by eight (83-75) on a Heckart 3-pointer with 3:34 left.  Another long-range Heckart jumper at the 3:00 mark had the Bronchos ahead by nine (86-77), though the Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to pull within 86-83 at 1:15.
 
Anderson's three-point play had UCO in front 89-83 with 47 seconds remaining, but FHSU made three free throws at 0:36 on the foul that sent Gibbs to the bench and Nic Combs missed two foul shots at 0:33.
 
The Tigers pulled within one at 89-88 on two more free throws with 26 seconds to play before Heckart drained two charity tosses at 0:22 to push the lead back to three (91-88).
 
FHSU's Craig Nicholson tied it with a 30-foot 3-pointer at the 10-second mark and Anderson was fouled driving to the bucket with 1.6 seconds left.  He missed both free throws to send the game into overtime, where the Tigers scored the first six points to go ahead 97-91.
 
Heckart's 3-pointer at the 2:11 mark gave UCO hope and it was still a two-point game at 99-97 after an Anderson layup with seven seconds left, but the Tigers made two more free throws at 0:06 to seal the win.
 
FHSU finished 26-of-31 (83.9 percent) from the foul line, while the Bronchos were 25-of-38 (65.8 percent).
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