UCO men's basketball makes coaches poll; Grantham wins LSC weekly honor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 3) – Three-time defending Lone Star Conference North Division champion Central Oklahoma will enter the 2010-11 season with a No. 18 ranking, according to the NABC/Division II Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll.

The Bronchos, who were also ranked 18th by Division II Bulletin, return seven lettermen from last year's 22-7 team that made its fifth appearance in six years in the national tournament.    UCO has won 74 games the last three years and is the unanimous pick to win its fourth straight LSC North title this season.

Defending national champion Cal Poly-Pomona topped the poll, followed by Indiana (Pa.) and Findlay.  Two other LSC teams made the rankings, with Tarleton State coming in 10th and defending league champion Midwestern State 20th.

UCO will play both those teams at home during a three-day span this season, hosting TSU on Jan. 6 and MSU on Jan. 8.

The Bronchos of eighth-year head coach Terry Evans go to Oklahoma City University Thursday to take on the Stars in a 7 p.m. exhibition game and then will host an alumni team at 7 p.m. Saturday.

UCO opens the season Nov. 12-13 at the High Desert/South Central Challenge in Las Vegas, taking on No. 16 Central Missouri on the second day of that event.

NABC/Division II Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll

1. Cal Poly-Pomona

2. Indiana (Pa.)

3. Findlay

4. Bellarmine

5. Grand Valley State

6. Florida Southern

7. Bentley

8. St. Cloud State

9. Winona State

10. Seattle Pacific

12. Tarleton State

13. Arkansas Tech

14. South Carolina-Aiken

15. Metropolitan State

16. Central Missouri

17. Rollins

18. Central Oklahoma

19. Saint Joseph's

20. Midwestern State

21. Alabama-Huntsville

22. Merrimack

23. Philadelphia

24. Montevallo

25. Clark Atlanta

RICHARDSON, Texas (Oct. 3) -- Central Oklahoma's Summer Grantham has been named Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Bronchos to a pair of crucial league victories last week, the league office announced Wednesday.

Grantham scored two goals as UCO beat West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico in the final two games of the regular season to clinch a berth in the LSC Tournament.  The sophomore midfielder scored with just 22 seconds left to play to lift the Bronchos to a dramatic 2-1 win over WTAMU and then ad the second goal in a season-ending 3-0 shutout of the Zias.

The Bronchos finished fifth in the regular season conference standings and open play in the LSC Tournament Thursday, taking on Incarnate Word in a 2:30 p.m. first-round game.