Broncho guard Shane Carroll dunks on The Cowboys Saturday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Photo by Kory Oswald.

By Christ Wescott, The Vista Sports Editor

Division II basketball teams shouldn’t be able to keep pace with Division I teams.

At least, that was the thinking before this weekend when UCO came just nine points short of upsetting Oklahoma State this Saturday.

The two teams met in Stillwater for a preseason exhibition game at the Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The No. 17 Bronchos stuck it to the Cowboys early, taking an 8-4 lead in the first.

Oklahoma State battled back, but led by just five points at halftime.

Photo by Kory Oswald.

Chris Rhymes led the Bronchos with 20 points and two turnovers.

Dauntae Williams scored 18 points, had three assists and forced three turnovers.

Eric Cazenave scored 15 points and forced three turnovers.

On the Oklahoma State side of the court, Obi Muonelo and James Anderson scored 23 points apiece.

Anderson also led the Cowboys in assists.

Photo by Kory Oswald.

The Bronchos forced 27 total turnovers, including 11 steals on the night.

UCO, however, only scored eight of 35 three-point-shots, making just three in the second half. OSU had 22 more rebounds than the Bronchos and yet UCO kept it close.

“I’m really proud of the way our guys played and how hard they played,” UCO Head Coach Terry Evans said.  “We take pride in playing harder than any of our opponents, including teams from the Big 12.  We just weren’t quite as good as Oklahoma State tonight, but we did force them into a lot of turnovers.”

UCO will host Oklahoma City University at 7 p.m. this Saturday for their final preseason tune-up. They then kick off the season with Emporia State at home on Nov. 16.