UCA News
Bears hang on at end to down The Citadel at Farris Center
UCA gets 21 points from freshman Layne Taylor and Elias Cato’s 19, then pull out close 73-71 win Monday night
CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Arkansas Central Arkansas Bears pulled out a chaotic and hard-fought 73-71 victory over The Citadel on Monday night at the Farris Center.
The Bears made their last field goal with 4:22 remaining but did enough down the stretch on the defensive end to earn the victory. After sophomore D.J. Seixas scored in the paint with just over 4:00 left, freshman Layne Taylor provided the Bears’ only other points over the final four minutes with a pair of free throws with just 11.3 seconds on the clock.
BEARS WIN!!! UCA holds off The Citadel in a crazy final minute. Layne Taylor 21 pts, Elias Cato 19. UCA made 10 threes, The Citadel made 16. #BearClawsUp pic.twitter.com/nTenLYKNpv
— UCA Men’s Basketball (@UCAMBB) December 17, 2024
The Bulldogs (5-5) entered the game averaging 7.9 three-pointers made per game but drilled 11 of 20 (55 percent) in the opening half. Still, UCA held a 47-42 lead at the break after senior Elias Cato scored 13 points and Taylor added 10. UCA was a respectable 8 of 21 (38.1 percent) from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
“They (The Citadel) don’t shoot it great,” said Shulman. “They don’t. And they were 11 for 20 in the first half. And that puts doubt in your head. Can we stay the course. But they’re not going to go 11 for 20 both halves, I don’t think. We just had to stay in it and we did.”
The Bears then opened the second half with an 11-3 run to grab a 13-point lead on an alley-oop dunk by Cato on a pass from Taylor with 16:28 to play. But the Bulldogs, playing just their second road game of the season, found the range again and eventually tied the game at 67-67 with 6:57 to play.
From there, the teams combined for just eight points in a crazy, hectic final six minutes, with UCA’s defense allowing just five points over the last seven minutes.
“I thought we were pretty relentless in our traps and our presses,” said Shulman. “And I loved how we played our zone at the end of the game. When we play zone, we take away threes. It’s the opposite of what people think, but it’s been successful so far in my career.”
Taylor, a true freshman from Farmington, Ark., led the Bears with 21 points and added 5 steals. Cato, UCA’s lone senior, finished with 19 points, hitting 8 of 8 at the free-throw line. Sophomore Brayden Fagbemi had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, while Seixas had 5 big points off the bench.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids, their battle and their guts,” said Shulman. “Playing Arkansas Saturday, then have a quick turnaround. We battled and we guarded at the end and we found a way. We stayed the course and we hung in there and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
UCA (3-8) will face its fifth and final Power 4 opponent on Sunday when it takes on the Oklahoma Sooners at noon in Norman, Okla.
Information from UCA Sports is included in this story
