[box vs. UCO]
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| Jim Grabowski had 17 points as SBU moved to 11-0. |
LAS VEGAS, NV. … A strong second half gave the #13 Southwest Baptist University Bearcats their 11th straight win on the season with an 80-61 win over Central Oklahoma. SBU only had a three-point lead at the half before they ran away with the win in the second half.
Sophomore Jim Grabowski led the way for SBU with 17 points. Deon Davis played his best game of the year with 14 points while Colt Blair and Jason Jemison both added 11 points. Frans Steyn grabbed nine rebounds for SBU.
With three ties in the first three minutes, UCO took a four-point lead at the 14:43 mark, 12-8. They pushed their lead to five, 15-10, a minute later and kept their distance over the next 10 minutes. At the 5:56 mark, UCO had a five-point lead, 29-24, when the Bearcats roar became too much to handle. SBU had a 9-2 run in three minutes to reclaim the lead, 33-31. UCO tied the game at 33 at the 1:52 mark before Grabowski hit a three-pointer just before the end of the half to make it, 36-33.
Just 16 seconds into the second half, Steyn gave SBU a five-point lead. UCO battled back to retake the lead, 41-40, but then SBU reeled off five straight points for a 45-41 lead. Two UCO free throws at the 16:47 mark put them back up by one, 46-45. At the 14:43 mark, SBU’s Jason Jemison tied the game at 48 on a free throw. Over the next three minutes, SBU put together a 12-2 run to take a 10-point lead, 60-50. In the run, Deon Davis had six of his 14 points on two three-pointers. UCO did cut the lead to six, 65-59, but that is as close as they would come. SBU fought back with an 8-0 run for a 14-point lead. With just under a minute to play in the game, Blair gave the Bearcats their largest lead of the game of 19-points on two free throws.
SBU shot 43% overall and out rebounded UCO, 42-41. SBU forced 23 turnovers and had four blocks.
