Basketball
Bears close out narrow win over Little Rock
CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas figured out how to win a close one Thursday night, doing all the little things down the stretch that resulted in a big 75-71 win over their in-state rival Little Rock Trojans at the Farris Center in the only meeting of the “Governor’s I-40 Showdown” this season.
UCA outscored the Trojans 5-1 over the final minute to exorcise some late-game demons from the opening month of the season. UCA had previously lost five games by five points or less, but found the winning formula Thursday. The Bears got 18 points from graduate Daniel Sofield, including four three-pointers, and connected on 20 of 22 at the free-throw line.
Three of those free throws came in the final minute, with freshman Javion Guy-King making a pair with 15.5 seconds left to give the Bears a 74-70 cushion. Little Rock’s DeAntoni Gordon could only make the first of two free throw attempts and UCA sophomore Glory Etim ripped down the rebound and was fouled with 1.7 remaining. He made one of two at the line to seal the victory.
“We’ve had a lot of close ones that come down the last couple of possessions,” said UCA head coach Anthony Boone, “and we’ve come out on the other end on all those. But I do believe our guys have been learning through all those situations. And tonight was really big, and really needed for our guys to experience coming out on top.
“I think we’ve just learned to not be too rattled, not go too fast. I think one of the big things is (point guard) Yoyo (Johannes Kirsipuu) has been steadily getting better, and Javion is continuing to get experience. And he’s slowed down a little bit as well. When we got into the situations where we needed to make plays on both ends of the floor, those two things were the big differences.”
UCA finished with three players in double figures, with freshman Tucker Anderson adding 13 points and senior Masai Olowokere 10. Guy-King and Kirsipuu were both 4 of 4 at the free-throw line, while Etim and Elias Cato both made 3 of 4.
“He (Sofield) started off slow but he was taking good shots and we stayed positive and his teammates were great at encouraging him and telling him to keep taking those shots,” said Boone. “And he did and they were falling for him. And that’s exactly why we brought him here, so he could do just that.”
The Bears (2-10) led for most of the first half but the Trojans (4-5) closed the half with a 12-3 run to grab a 31-30 lead at the break. UCA, battling foul trouble with both Cato and Anderson, fell behind by as much as nine points at 52-43 before putting together a 9-0 run, started by a three-pointer from Anderson and capped by an inside basket by Etim that tied it at 52-52 with 9:21 left.
From there, the lead changed hands repeatedly, with a total of 10 lead changes for the game. Sofield hit a pair of three-pointers at the 6:15 mark and the 3:30 mark to keep the Bears in front.
“We’ve been in that situation a number of times,” said Boone of the second-half deficit. “And we’ve had success in those situations, and been able to come back and give ourselves a chance. Our guys just stayed pretty calm. Stayed intense, yes, but stayed calm and collected, and stuck with the plan. We knew we had to take one possession at a time and we wanted to get as many stops as we could, then come down and get quality looks.
“For the most part, we took care of the ball, especially against a team that is known for turning its opponents over a lot. We did a great job with just eight turnovers. A great job of taking care of the basketball against that kind of physicality and that kind of pressure.”
UCA shot 42.1 percent from the field for the game and held Little Rock to 38.5 percent. UCA had a season-low eight turnovers and also blocked six shots, led by three from Etim. Both teams made seven threes but UCA shot 36.8 from the arc and Little Rock just 29.2 percent.
“I think our guys fed off each other at the line,” said Boone. “They saw each other making free throws and the next guy stepped up and hit free throws, and the next guy stepped up and hit them. Glory isn’t someone we’d consider an elite shooter but he made 3 of 4 and hit the one that really clinched it. Up three and he hit one where they wouldn’t have a chance to tie it. Free throws were a really big part of the win.”
Boone said the crowd of 2,730 and the atmosphere played a big part in the victory as well.
“It was an incredible environment,” he said. “Our fans were out, Little Rock’s fans were out. It was a great college basketball game and a great college basketball environment. I think another thing that helped us was we’re here at home and (injured) Cam (Hunter) is not playing but he’s here on the side doing what he does. He’s a leader for our guys and he continues to do that even though he’s not able to play.”
“He was encouraging, getting on the guys when he needed to, giving them pep talks, doing all of that before the game, during the game. And everybody did their part, whatever their role was, whether it was on the floor or on the sideline. Everybody was into it and all of it together made it happen for us.”
The Bears hit the road for a Sunday afternoon matchup at 2 p.m. with Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill., before taking a break for final exams next week.
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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