Bears stay alive in ASUN Tournament with win over Stetson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A career night from freshman Nehemiah Turner helped extend UCA’s season at least another day as the Bears beat the Stetson Hatters, 77-72, in the opening round of the ASUN Championship on Sunday night at Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.

The Bears, the No. 10 seed, got 37 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots from the 6-10 power forward.

Coupled with his 24 points in the Bears’ final game in the regular season last Wednesday against No. 1 seed Lipscomb on the same floor, Turner is averaging 30.5 points per game at Allen Arena over the past five days.

UCA will now face No. 1 seed Lipscomb again at 7 p.m. Monday night in the ASUN quarterfinals.

“I told them before the game, and then I told them again at halftime, how can I not be proud of our team,” said UCA coach John Shulman. “How on earth are we even here (in the tournament)? But we have battled and battled. We talked about writing our version of history.

“Central Arkansas had one win in ASUN Tournament history going into tonight. And now we have two. Why can’t we have a chance to win tomorrow night. I’m super proud of our kids. And we have to take care of business tonight. We have to calm down. I’m a really big believer that you can only celebrate one time during a tournament. But our season has been so nutty, they are so happy in that locker room. And I’m going to let them be happy.”

The Bears, playing in just their second ASUN Championship and first since 2022, overcame a five-point halftime deficit, with Turner scoring 24 of his points after halftime. Turner finished 13 of 15 from the field and 11 of 12 at the free-throw line.

“Nemo got to stick Central Arkansas up there (on the bracket), and that was a really nice thing,” said Shulman. “I’m really proud of him. He just continues to grow, continues to be a man. Proud of Brayden. OD (Owen Derhmann) stepped up and made a big three.

“Just really proud of all the guys, to keep battling like we are.”

The ninth-seeded Hatters, who made 12 three-pointers, tied the game at 69-69 with 3:15 to play but UCA answered with a Turner dunk and a pair of free throw by lone senior Elias Cato. The Hatters made their last three with 1:50 remaining but UCA freshman Cole McCormick forced a jump ball on Stetson’s next possession and sophomore Brayden Fagbemi was fouled.

Fagbemi, who had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, made both free throws for a 75-72 lead with 25.1 left. Stetson missed and Turner pulled down his 11th rebounds and was fouled. His final two free throws with 11 seconds left sealed it.

Stetson had won the only regular-season meeting with the Bears 75-65 in DeLand, Fla. back in January.

UCA shot just 5 of 31 (16.1 percent) from three-point range, but made up the difference by making 18 of 19 (94.7 percent) at the foul line.

“If you can win when you go 5 of 31, you’re doing something special,” Shulman said. “We just continue to battle, that’s all you can say about these guys. And I’m proud of them.”

UCA is now 2-0 against Stetson in postseason play, having beaten the Hatters 74-73 in the opening round in 2022 at the Farris Center.

The Bears will now face Lipscomb for the second time in six days on Monday. The Bisons (22-9, 14-4) were co-champions of the ASUN with North Alabama but earned the No. 1 seed due to a tiebreaker. Lipscomb beat UCA 78-60 last Wednesday to close out the regular season.