by Chris Brannick
EDMOND – Central Oklahoma used a second-half rally to put away Washburn Saturday in a crucial late season battle in the MIAA at Hamilton Field House.
UCO 79, Washburn 69.
The Bronchos improved to 18-8 on the season with the win and are now 10-8 in the MIAA. Washburn is 15-9 on the year and 11-7 in league play. Washburn, Pittsburg State, and Rogers State are all tied for third place in the league standings, one game in front of sixth-place Central Oklahoma. UCO visits Rogers next week.
“We had to battle and we did, I’m really proud of our guys,” UCO head men’s basketball coach Bob Hoffman said. “That was a fight, it always is with Washburn, they’re a great team. Our guys did a great job of finding ways to get it done today.”
UCO visits Rogers State and Northeastern State next weekend before hosting Northwest Missouri and Newman to wrap up the 2023-24 regular season March 2 in Edmond. The top 10 teams in the MIAA qualify for the postseason tournament March 6-10 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Central Oklahoma clinched a berth in the MIAA Basketball Championship with Saturday’s win, but still has a handful of scenarios on the table with two weeks left in the season.
Saturday, Jaden Wells led the Bronchos as he has all season. The fourth-year junior guard became just the fifth place in MIAA history to make 300 3-pointers. With five on Saturday, he has exactly that many in his career.
Wells scored 27 to lead the Bronchos. He went 9-for-22 from the floor, 5-for-9 from behind the 3-point line, and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. Wells also had two steals, two assists, and two rebounds.
Danquez Dawsey also scored 20 points and added four assists on Saturday. He went 6-for-12 from the floor, 2-for-4 from deep, and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
Jalyn Turner made it three in double figures with his 12-point performance. Luke Haasl added eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Majok Majouk and Caiden Punt added four each and Matthew Willenborg scored two for the Bronchos.
Central Oklahoma and Washburn traded blows throughout the afternoon of Saturday’s matchup. There were eight lead changes and six ties in the first 20 minutes. But the Bronchos never trailed in the second half as Central pulled away in the end, leading by as many as 13 in the final minute, to earn the victory.
