UCO Men’s Basketball Comeback Bid Falls Short in Loss to Central Missouri on Senior Day

The University of Central Oklahoma men’s basketball team’s comeback attempt fell short as they lost to the University of Central Missouri 74-70 at Hamilton Field House Saturday afternoon in a Senior Day matchup. 

UCO has now lost three in a row, and their Mid-America Intercollegiate Association (MIAA) conference record has dipped to sub .500 at 8-9 with a total record of 15-14. However, they did clinch an MIAA conference tournament berth.

Central Missouri came out firing after UCO took its only lead of the game at 2-0.

The mules were led by junior forward Jevon Hill, who went 7-7 from three in the first half and 8-10 from behind the arc for the game. The lanky forward spent his first three seasons at Division I South Dakota University and is reportedly garnering interest from other Division I programs again, who hope to secure him in the transfer portal for his senior season.

UCO came out dull and could not get anything going against the aggressive Central Missouri defense, which trapped every ball screen involving the former mule Josh Nwankwo.

The heavy focus on Nwankwo led to open looks for the rest of the Bronchos, but they were unable to hit any shots, shooting 26% in the first half compared to CMU’s 58%. 

UCO fell as much as 19 and went into the half trailing 39-22.

Whatever halftime speech coach Bob Hoffman gave must’ve been a good one, because his team came out focused and intent.

Possession by possession, the Bronchos chipped away at the Mules’ lead. They seemingly adjusted their defense to limit three-point opportunities and funnel Central Missouri inside, forcing the Mules to play through the post. 

CMU did have success on the block, but their offensive pace slowed down, scoring twos instead of the three-ball. 

On the other end, UCO started attacking CMU in the paint, which allowed opportunities for Matthew Willenborg, who found success in the paint and on the offensive glass. He finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bronchos etched Central Missouri’s lead down to eight before guard Parker Hannah had a massive four-point play to put the Mules on their heels, cutting the lead to four, 59-55, with six minutes left. 

Hannah had a handful of momentum-shifting plays, and his shotmaking down the stretch was paramount for Central Oklahoma’s comeback.

He scored with 17 seconds left to make it a 72-70 game, and the Bronchos fouled to send Central Missouri to the free throw line. 

CMU guard Kyran Tilley came up big with two clutch makes to extend the lead back to four.

UCO came down and ran an action to get Nwankwo a look at the top of the key, but it was a heavily contested look that fell short. 

Central Missouri secured the rebound to take the conference win.

It was an impressive display of grit from UCO, who got impactful contributions from players outside Willenborg and Nwankwo, including freshman Brady Hancuff and the aforementioned Hannah. Junior forward Jayden Garces also brought defensive tenacity in the paint despite being outsized. He also added a timely three during UCO’s comeback.

Seniors Nwankwo, Jacobi Sebock, Ben Averitt, and JV Seat were recognized before the game for Senior Day. 

Nwankwo was celebrated in his first year at UCO after he transferred from Central Missouri.

Meanwhile, it was a bittersweet moment for the other three seniors as Sebock, Averitt, and Seat were all injured and unable to play. 

Sebock has been at UCO for the last three years after playing his first year of college basketball at a junior college in North Carolina. He’s had a strong last two years and was the Bronchos’ third leading scorer before going down with an injury earlier this year. 

Averitt played all four years at UCO, and it was tragically poetic that his senior day was spoiled by an injury, as he’s had to deal with injuries for the majority of his college career, including having missed the entire 2023-24 season with a knee injury.

JV Seat spent his first two seasons at Division I Abilene Christian University in Texas before transferring to UCO, where he was incredibly impactful last year when he came up huge in the Bronchos’ MIAA Tournament championship run.

Central Oklahoma has two regular-season games left, going on the road at Arkansas Fort Smith Thursday and at in-state rival Northeastern State Saturday before they head to Kansas City for the MIAA Tournament.