Bears
Bears will get shot Saturday to avenge earlier loss on Austin Peay on road
Bears and Governors are scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m., but time is approximate behind women’s game on Saturday afternoon
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Central Arkansas gets a second shot at the Austin Peay Governors when they face off Saturday at F&M Bank Arena.
The Bears and Governors are scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. but will be following a women’s game between APSU and Lipscomb so the time is approximate.
UCA had a shot to knock off APSU in the first meeting on Jan. 23 at the Farris Center. The Bears, after trailing by seven at halftime, raced out to a 10-point lead after starting the second half on a 27-10 run. But the Governors answered that with a run of their own and took the lead for good with 4:35 to play.
UCA cut it to one point, 69-68, with one minute remaining but the Governors made three free throws in the final 5.4 seconds to seal the win.
Freshman Layne Taylor, who is now out for the season with a shoulder injury, scored 14 points to lead the Bears. Sophomore Michael Evbagharu had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow sophomore Brayden Fagbemi had one as well with 13 points and 10 assists.
Senior Elias Cato, also currently out with an injury, had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots for the Bears.
UCA out-shot and out-rebounded APSU, but made four less free throws, which proved to be the difference.
The Governors (9-15, 4-7) have lost three of their past four games, including a 74-64 home loss to North Alabama on Wednesday. APSU is 5-4 in home games this season, while UCA has yet to win a road game.
Fagbemi is tied for second in the ASUN in assists with 4.6 per game, and is No. 7 in minutes played at 31.8 per game.
The Bears (6-18, 2-9) continue to play without five key players, including their top two scorers in Taylor and Cato. Fagbemi has taken up some of the scoring slack, averaging 14.0 points per game along with 5.7 assists over the past four games in Taylor’s absence. Freshman Cole McCormick is averaging 10.0 points over that span.
Freshman Nehemiah Turner has been in the starting lineup for the past two games and has averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
UCA returns home next week for two games, taking on Jacksonville on Thursday night and North Florida on Saturday afternoon.
