Sugar Bears pile up another one-possession win, down Governors

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Central Arkansas gutted out another single-possession win in the state of Tennessee on Saturday, picking up a 51-50 win over the Austin Peay Governors.

It marked the sixth-straight win for the Sugar Bears, and seventh win in their last eight games.

The Sugar Bears (13-6, 7-1 ASUN) again relied on second-chance points and tough defense to overcome the Govs, outscoring the home team 20-0 on second-chance opportunities while holding Austin Peay to 43 percent shooting from the floor and 27 percent from three.

Bree Stephens had a season-high 15 points and nine rebounds, Jade Upshaw had 12 points and six boards, and Randrea Wright added six points, four boards and a team-high four assists.

After giving up the opening basket, UCA responded with an 8-0 run to jump out early. But little by little, the Govs chipped away until the teams were even at 13-13. Stephens was dominating early on, pouring in nine points in the first to keep UCA competitive.

Then, with 42 seconds left, Destine Duckworth put in a three-pointer to give the Sugar Bears a one-possession lead, and the defense was able to hold on through the Govs’ final possession of the frame.

The Sugar Bears built the lead back out to seven points midway through the second on back-to-back offensive putbacks by Abiara, who again played very well inside the paint. She would finish with five points and seven rebounds, and altered several shots on the defensive end.

The lead would be as high as eight, but Austin Peay would respond with three scores down the stretch to cut the lead to just three before halftime. Both sides managed just nine points in the second quarter, as both defenses settled in, and the score was just 25-22 at the break.

Austin Peay tied the game in the early minutes of the third quarter, but Upshaw responded with a 6-0 run by herself to give her team the lead again. The Govs answered with a 7-0 run of their own to take their first lead since the game’s first basket.

Wright and Kinley Fisher responded with four-straight to take the lead back, and the third quarter turned into a back-and-forth matchup, with every score answered by another one, until the dust settled with the Sugar Bears up one at the end of the quarter.

The lead flipped to the home team for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, but never built to more than two points as the UCA offense struggled to find its groove. Stephens and Wright combined for a couple of scores to retake a five-point lead with 4:32 to go. Austin Peay answered with a slow 5-0 run to tie the game with 2:31 to go. Stephens hit a runner from outside the paint at the two-minute mark, and an Upshaw free throw at the one-minute mark had the Sugar Bears up three.

The final minute of game time took roughly ten minutes, with the teams combining for four timeouts, three reviews (that all went the Govs’ way), and just two points. Austin Peay scored with seven seconds left, and after a five-second call on UCA, the Govs had a chance.

But UCA had a few tricks up its sleeve, namely, the Sugar Bears weren’t at the foul limit to send the Govs to the free throw line, so as the clock ticked down, just as Austin Peay would start to move into a set, a Sugar Bear would foul the ball-handler.

That allowed time to tick away while forcing the home team to reset and inbound the ball again. After a couple of times pulling that off, the Govs couldn’t get a shot off after inbounding with just under three seconds on the clock, giving UCA its sixth-straight win.

UCA is on the road for the first game next week, making the first trip to West Georgia as members of the ASUN. Tip-off in Carrollton, Georgia is set for 6 p.m.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.