In a tournament filled with upsets No.1 seed Central Oklahoma advanced to the Lone Star Conference Championship game with a 77-65 win over Tarleton State Friday night at Bruin Field House.

            UCO senior Sam Belt, the LSC North Player of the Year, scored a game-high 26 points, fresh off a 33-point effort in Wednesday's quarterfinals. Belt also added nine rebounds, while Lance Harper scored 18 points to stave off the Texans, the No. 2 seed in the South Division who will now prepare for the South Central Regional tournament with their 23-6 record.

            For only the second time in LSC tournament history and the first time since 2004, two North Division teams will battle for the championship.

            The Bronchos (24-5) will play Texas A&M-Commerce in Saturday's final round, looking for their third win this season over the Lions. UCO edged A&M-Commerce 84-83 in Edmond back on Jan. 16 before a 76-60 road win in Commerce on Feb. 9.

            Tarleton had four players in double figures, led by Jeffrey Henfield's 14 points. Eric Williams had 13 points, while TSU got 11 points each from Avery Patterson and Terrance Gamble, who added 14 rebounds.

            Central Oklahoma, who went 11-1 in LSC North games this season, avenged a 73-70 overtime loss to Tarleton State on Jan. 3 in Stephenville, Texas. Since that loss, the Bronchos have won 14 of 15 games.

            The Bronchos' 12-point margin of victory Friday night is the largest of any LSC Tournament game played so far this season, on both the men's and women's bracket, surpassing a pair of 10-point games on the men's side.

            UCO had one of those victories in the quarterfinals against Angelo State. Just like that game, Belt was the start of the show for the Bronchos,

            In the second half, with the Texans trying to claw back into the game after trialing by 12 at halftime, Belt scored 11 straight points from UCO in a five-minute span, including two 3-pointers. His long-range jumper with 11:55 to play pushed the Bronchos back up to a 13-point advantage.

            TSU, which never led in the game, could get no closer than seven points.

            In the first half, UCO led by as much as 12 points after jumping out to a 21-9 lead with less than six minutes into the game.

            Belt only had two points in that early run, but picked up the pace before halftime, where he had 13 points.

            UCO took a 12-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 47-35, thanks to a 61.5 field goal percentage and hitting all 10 free throws.

            Tarleton struggled in the first half, committing eight turnovers and hitting only 11 field goals.

             Central Oklahoma is the only school in the LSC with both men's and women's teams alive in the tournament. UCO's women, also the No. 1 seed in the North, will play Angelo State in Saturday's semifinal round.  

Head Coach Terry Evans

Opening statement...

"We played incredible.  We challenged our guys defensively to hold Tarleton in the 60's.  We felt like we could get close to our average, and we were on track in the first half.  In the second half both teams came out really tightened up defensively.  But, I'm really proud of our guys."

Sam Belt

Playing in Bartlesville again...

"It's great.  I love playing back here.  I'm able to get a lot of family to the games and a lot of friends.  It brings it back to the high school days where you have a bunch of fans and everything like that. This tournament has been unbelievable."

Lance Harper

On a North Division final...

"We're excited. All year long we heard that the South Division was so string, and they are.  Give them credit, they're really good.  Coming out here and seeing UCO and Commerce in the final, it makes us feel better, we like it."

TarletonStateQuotes

Head Coach Lonn Reisman:

• On the start of the game: "Central Oklahoma is a very talented team.  We knew it was going to be a very tough game.  I thought the game was over after the first five minutes.  You can't spot a team like Central Oklahoma a 12-point lead that quickly and expect to come back, as good as they are."
• On UCO's Sam Belt:  "He is a class act.  He is a very good player and he knows their system inside and out and tonight it showed.

Tarleton State's Jeffrey Henfield:

• On his play tonight versus Wednesday night against Northeastern State.:  "Wednesday night I was looking more from the outside and it showed.  Tonight I was able to penetrate and get some good shots inside."

Tarleton State's Avery Patterson

• On the team's play:  "We played hard tonight.  They made some good shots and we didn't.  We need to make those shots in order top beat a team like UCO and wee didn't."

UCO NOTES

UCO has won five straight games and 15 of 16 . . . Although UCO had made three straight trips to the semifinals in the LSC Tournament, the Bronchos advance to the finals for the first time since 1998 . . . Central Oklahoma improved to 19-0 when leading at halftime this season. The Bronchos led by 12 over the Texans Friday night . . . After making a season-low five 3-pointers against Angelo State in the quarterfinals, UCO responded with a 9-of-19 effort against TSU . . . UCO forward Eric Cazenave had scored only 15 points in the four games prior to the LSC Tournament. But in two games, Cazenave has scored 31 points, including 19 on Wednesday . . . Belt needs 20 points to move into second place on UCO's all-time scoring list. Belt now has 1,837 points . . . Belt moved into fourth-place on UCO's single-season rebounding record with 794 boards this season . . .

TarletonStatenotes

• The Texans entered tonight's semi-final having won 17 of its last 20 games.
• Tarleton State falls to 5-3 in LSC Tournament semi-final contests after tonight's loss.
• The Texans trailed at halftime for only the eighth time this season.  The 47-35 deficit at the break was Tarleton State's largest of the season.
• Tarleton State fell to 3-5 when trailing at halftime.  They also fell to 8-5 when scoring less than 70 points.