Fuxa drilled three 3-pointers in the opening two minutes to stake UCO to a quick 9-2 lead and the Bronchos never trailed, with Fuxa and Beckley scoring 31 of their 41 combined points in the first half.
Beckley finished with game highs for points (23) and rebounds (11) while adding three steals and a blocked shot. Fuxa had 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, with Courtney Allen chipping in eight points and a career-high seven rebounds.
“We played really, really well for about 30 minutes and then got a little careless,” said UCO coach Guy Hardaker, whose team improved to 2-1. “We didn’t finish like I would have liked, but it was still a great win for us and I’m proud of the progress this young team is making.”
The Bronchos led by 15 (43-28) at halftime and built a 22-point lead (65-43) before missing nine of their last 11 shots – including five layups – in the final eight minutes, though UCO still had no trouble closing out the Gorillas.
Fuxa’s hot start put PSU on its heels quickly as the junior forward – who had made just 1-of-3 shots from long range in the first two games of the season – drained three consecutive rainbows from the corner to give the Bronchos a 9-2 lead not even two minutes in.
UCO stretched its lead to double digits at 22-11 on a Beckley layup off a Tarrington Oakes assist, but the Gorillas were still within striking range at 36-28 with 2:55 left in the half.
That’s when the Bronchos pulled away again, getting a 3-pointer from Allen, a short jumper from Oakes and a layup from Beckley off Fuxa’s nifty behind-the-back pass with one second left to open up a 43-28 halftime advantage.
UCO’s lead peaked at 25 (59-34) on another Beckley layup with 13:22 remaining and the cushion was 22 at 65-43 before the Bronchos’ game-ending struggles allowed PSU to get within the final margin.
It was the seventh straight home win for UCO, which doesn’t return to action again until going to Incarnate Word on Dec. 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment