Bronchos hand Hounds 105-76 setback

EDMOND, Okla. — Junior guard Dauntae Williams scored 24 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday, helping Central Oklahoma pull away to a 105-76 Lone Star Conference men’s crossover victory over Eastern New Mexico.

The Bronchos (10-4), winning their sixth game in a row, took the lead for good 23-21 on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Tyler Phillips with 11 minutes left in the half. Phillips finished with 15 points for the Bronchos, while seniors Eric Cazenave and Blake Livingston added 12 points apiece.

The Greyhounds (5-8), who have dropped seven of their last eight, got 13 points each from junior guard Reggie Nelson and junior post Tommy York. Guard Jimmie Marshall finished with 12 points while senior guard Equs Darby scored 10.

ENMU led 4-2 early, but the Bronchos opened a 15-7 lead with 5 1/2 minutes gone on two layups by Livingston.

Darby’s 3-pointer and layup and a 3-pointer by Marshall pulled the Hounds even with 13:26 left in the half, and two free throws by Brown less than 30 seconds later gave them a 17-16 lead. Marshall then found Victor Reid for a layup and a 3-point margin.

UCO countered with an 11-1 run in which Williams scored five points. The Bronchos led 48-35 at halftime.

Central Oklahoma scored the first nine points of the second half to extend the margin to 22. The margin stayed in that range until the final eight minutes, when the Bronchos finished off the contest on a 16-7 spurt.

The Bronchos shot 49 percent from the field (36-of-74) while limiting the Hounds to 43 percent (24-of-56), and they outrebounded ENMU 42-38. Reid had a game-high nine rebounds for the Hounds.

For the game, UCO committed just seven turnovers while forcing ENMU into 20 floor errors.