Basketball
Big night gunning three-pointers lifts UCA to home win
Bears hit 16 three-pointers, have four players in double figures behind Cato’s 19 points, Taylor’s 18 over Saints
CONWAY, Ark. — The three-pointers were flying for Central Arkansas on Wednesday night in their home opener on Scottie Pippen Court.
UCA nailed 16 threes and absolutely shattered the school record for three-point attempts, finishing with a whopping 54, in an easy 108-49 victory over the Randall Saints at the Farris Center.
The Bears (1-2) had four players in double figures, led by senior Elias Cato with 19 points and freshman Layne Taylor with 18. Eight different players made at least one three-pointer, with Taylor connecting five times and redshirt freshman Ben Fox four times.
“It was good to play our first game (at home),” said new coach John Shulman. “I was nervous. Our first one here in the Farris Center. But we got off to a good start, we defended for the most part, we shot a few more threes than I thought we would shoot.
“But that’s how we recruit. We recruit offensively and coach defense. I think it’s an exciting way to play. And Layne said on the way up here (for the interview), ‘Hey, I had a lot of fun, it was fun.’ And if the kids are having fun, that’s a good thing. I did think we played really, really, really hard. And I thought we played really hard for 40 minutes.”
UCA Bears bringing the ball up the court against Randall. / Ted McClenning-AllBears+ Images
The Bears led 56-22 at halftime after tying their season high with 11 threes before the break. Taylor had 17 of his 19 points in the opening 20 minutes.
For the game, UCA out-rebounded Randall 58-34, including 19 offensive rebounds. UCA scored 52 points in the paint and had 21 second-chance points while playing all 14 available players.
“I liked our effort, I thought our effort was good,” said Shulman. “We out-rebounded them by 24 and we had 19 offensive boards. We had 23 assists and we only had 5 turnovers. I thought we shared it.
“I thought we had something in mind. We wanted people to leave here tonight going, ‘Gosh, do they play hard. Gosh, do they play together. Gosh, are they unselfish. Gosh do they hustle. Because you’re not going to win them all. But if you continue to do that, it attracts people and people appreciate your effort. And I appreciated our effort tonight.”
Cato finished 7 of 10 from the field and added 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Taylor was 5 of 10 from the arc and added 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Freshman Cole McCormick had 16 points, including two alley-oop dunks in the closing minute of the first half. Fox made two three-pointers to open the game for the Bears and added a career-high 14 points.
Sophomore guard Brayden Fagbemi had a game-high 11 rebounds and game-high 7 assists.
“Playing at home, we had 1,500 people here and that’s pretty neat for our first game, especially against a lesser opponent that’s not necessarily D-I,” said Taylor, a 5-foot-11 guard from Farmington, Ark. “And shooting a lot of threes. It’s a lot of fun, moving the ball, shoot it, play fast, run up and down. And we played together, stayed together and played hard. That’s the recipe for a lot of fun.”
The Bears opened the season against two Power 4 schools in BYU and Utah, teams that also fired up a lot of three-pointers. UCA did the same on Wednesday, breaking the school record of 35 set against UCLA in 2017.
“We set records,” said Shulman. “And I don’t mind shooting 54 (threes) but I mind missing all those ones that we didn’t make. So we’ll get better. It’s such a glamorous job Tomorrow morning at eight o’clock we’re watching film, we’re practicing at 8:30. We just have to keep on getting better. It’s part of the process, it’s the grind of college basketball.”
The Bears are back on the road on Saturday facing Western Illinois at 1 p.m. in Macomb, Ill.
Basketball
Sugar Bears fall to No. 9 Kansas State 86-39
UCA lost its second game of the season to Kansas State, giving the Bears two losses to Power 4 Conference teams.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Central Arkansas women’s basketball team got an up close look at what it takes to be one of the best teams in the nation on Sunday.
No. 9 Kansas State defeated the Sugar Bears 86-39, dropping their record to 4-2 to start the season. Both of UCA losses were to Power 4 Conference teams. Jade Upshaw and Randrea Wright led UCA in scoring with eight points each, Kinley Fisher had six points and Bree Stephens had five. Cheyenne Banks led the team in rebounds with four defensive rebounds.
It took some time for the Sugar Bears to adjust to the size and length of the Wildcats, and the first half was tough for UCA. Early turnovers created a double-digit deficit quickly, and UCA couldn’t find the offense to get back into it. It didn’t help that Kansas State has shooters at every spot surrounding their bigs, as the home team shot 53 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep.
The second half started off better for UCA, making five of their first six shots but Kansas State matched each bucket with one of its own. Despite signs of improved play in the second half, the Sugar Bears never threatened to close the gap with Kansas State. UCA did end up outscoring the Wildcats 14-9 in the game’s final quarter of play.
UCA returns home for its next game on Saturday against Little Rock at 1 p.m.
Basketball
UCA falls to Georgia Tech 87-68
The Bears dropped their fifth game to start to the 2024-25 campaign against Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon.
ATLANTA – Central Arkansas men’s basketball team fell behind early against Georgia Tech and couldn’t comeback falling 87-68 at McCamish Pavilion on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, improving their record to 4-3 overall. UCA, who was missing five players for Saturday’s contest, fell to 2-5 to start the 2024-25 campaign.
“The first two minutes of the game, they punched us in the mouth,” said UCA head coach John Shulman. “We’re down 10-0. (associate head coach) Brock (Widders) said with 3:30 to go in the game, we were down one in the second half. So if we just take care of the first two minutes, it’s a two-point game with three to play.
“I thought their athleticism and size wore us down and we could never get over the hump. It was a 9 to 12-point game the entire game. At an ACC venue, at Georgia Tech. So it is what it is. Their size and length hurt us. But I can’t ask Elias (Cato) and Layne (Taylor) and Brayden (Fagbemi) and Michael (Fagbemi) to do a whole lot more than what they’re doing. They’re all playing too many minutes.”
Layne Taylor led the Bears with 20 poiints and three rebound while Elias Cato had 17 and 4 and Brayden Fagbemi had 15 and six.
The Bears kept cutting into their deficit but the Yellow Jackets kept responding down the stretch in the second half. A Taylor three-pointer got UCA within 51-45 early in the second half. Another by Fagbemi made it a 58-51 margin with 13:00 left.
A 10-2 run by Georgia Tech pushed it back out to a 15-point lead with 8:30 remaining before Taylor nailed another corner three. Georgia Tech could never quite pull away from the Bears, despite making 13 three-pointers and winning the rebound battle 41-28, but UCA could not get the margin to single digits.
UCA has three consecutive in-state foes coming up, all on the road. The Bears play at Little Rock on Wednesday, at UAPB on Saturday and vs. Arkansas on Dec. 14 at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
Basketball
Bears drop game against SEMO that will sting for awhile
UCA comes close, but missed free throws in overtime lead to 76-73 loss to Redhawks on Thursday night
CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas battled into overtime on Thursday before falling 77-73 to the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in non-conference action at the Farris Center.
UCA, which got 20 points apiece from senior Elias Cato and sophomore Brayden Fagbemi, misfired on three free throws in the overtime period. Fagbemi made two of two at the line with 12.5 seconds left to get the Bears within three at 76-73.
UCA guard Brayden Fagbemi driving against Southeast Missouri at the Farris Center. / Ted McClenning-AllBears+ Images
Sophomore Michael Evbagharu then stole a SEMO pass and Cato was fouled. Cato, UCA’s lone senior who also had seven rebounds to go with his 20 points, missed both free throw attempts. SEMO’s Marqueas Bell made 1 of 2 for a 77-73 lead with 6.8 to play before Brendan Terry missed two more for the Redhawks.
“Athletics and basketball and sports is a very finicky, and sometimes very cruel game,” said UCA coach John Shulman. “That’s why not everybody can do it. You’ve got a bunch of hurting kids in there, who have busted their tail ends and not getting rewarded for it.
“It is what is it. It’s the test. What are you going to do now. Are you going to keep on working or are you just going to feel sorry for yourself. That’s what’s hard. I hate it for the kids, because they deserved better tonight. They deserved better against Western Illinois. We deserved better but we didn’t get better, so what are you going to do. You just have to get back to work.”
UCA forward Elias Cato driving against Southeast Missouri at the Farris Center. / Ted McClenning-AllBears+ Images
The teams played to a 34-34 halftime tie, despite the Bears hitting just 1 of 6 from three-point range. For the game, UCA was an uncharacteristic 3-of-21 (14.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
“You have to get the foul line in that particular situation and miss, to understand what if feels like,” said Shulman. “I don’t know how many true freshmen are playing in America. But if we can all just take a deep breath and hang in there with these young kids … these are true freshmen, and they’re taking big shots.
“So let’s just see what those big shots look like in January (when ASUN play begins).”
UCA forward Michael Evbagharu driving against Southeast Missouri at the Farris Center. / Ted McClenning-AllBears+ Images
The game featured 15 lead changes and 17 ties, with six points the biggest lead for either team.
“It felt like a conference game,” said Shulman. “I thought Saturday (at WIU) felt like a conference game. And to be honest, I think we got better tonight. I wish we had a result. I wish we could say, hey look at us, we’re rocking and rolling. I can’t say that. But I feel a lot different than I did after Western Illinois.
“I thought our effort was really good. I think we got better tonight.”
The Bears will be at home again at 1 p.m. Sunday, facing UNC Asheville, which will play SEMO at 6:30 Friday night as part of UCA’s multi-team event
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