EDMOND, Okla. – The University of Central Oklahoma forced the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team into a season-high 26 turnovers as the Bronchos recorded an 82-55 victory Thursday at the Hamilton Fieldhouse.
 
UCO improved to 13-9 overall and 7-6 in MIAA play. Northwest fell to 4-17 overall and 2-10 in league action.
 
Northwest used a 9-0 spurt to take a 17-16 lead after falling behind 16-8 early in the contest. A Luke Moustakas layup put the Bearcats up one at 17-16 with 9:57 to play in the first half. UCO answered back with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 28-19 lead with 6:28 left in the opening half. Northwest closed to within 32-27 on the second three-pointer of the half from Emorie Knox. However, UCO finished the first half on an 11-2 run to take a 43-27 advantage to the break.
 
The Bronchos scored the first 10 points of the second half to extend its run to 21-2 which pushed the home team's lead to 53-29 with 17:28 to play in the game. The Bearcats battled back with a 13-2 run of their own to slice the UCO lead to 55-42. The Bronchos responded with an 18-4 spurt to take a 27-point lead at 73-46 with 6:16 to play in the contest. UCO closed out the contest with an 82-55 win.
 
Senior Emorie Knox led the Bearcats with 11 points off the bench. Sophomore Jack Ratigan also reached double-figure scoring with 10 points off the bench as well. Senior Byron Alexander grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. The Bearcats went 5-of-25 from three-point range as Knox dropped in three of the five makes. Northwest won the rebounding battle, 38-36.
 
The Bearcats will stay in the state of Oklahoma for a Saturday matchup in Claremore, Okla., against the Rogers State Hillcats. Tip is set for 3:30 p.m. following the women's game at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
NOTES: The 10 MIAA losses for Northwest are the most for the Bearcats since going 8-14 in the 2010-11 season … Northwest has lost 17 games for the first time since the 1975-76 season when the Bearcats finished 7-17 … UCO snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with Northwest … Northwest owns a 20-6 lead in the all-time series … freshman guard Marcus Glock made a three-pointer for the 15th consecutive game … Northwest came into the game with the MIAA's best three-point field goal defense at 29.9%, but the Bronchos were able to make 8-of-16 from three-point range in the win … Northwest's bench contributed 36 points, while its starting five accounted for 19 points.