Bears
Three-point shooting in first half lifts UAPB past UCA, 84-78
Bears had to come back from a 20-point deficit at one point, but couldn’t get even with Golden Lions late
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — A furious comeback came up short Saturday night for Central Arkansas, dropping an 84-78 non-conference game to the UAPB Golden Lions at H.O. Clemmons Arena.
The Bears (2-7) trailed by 21 points early in the second half but fought back to within four at 66-62 with 8:20 to play. UCA could not get closer, despite a pair of late three-pointers by sophomore Brayden Fagbemi and freshman Layne Taylor.
Taylor, a 5-foot-11 guard from Farmington, Ark., had a career-high 25 points and made a career-best six three-pointers. As a team, the Bears connected on 10 of 41 from three-point range (24.4 percent), while the home team made 15 of 32 (46.9 percent).
“It’s called pride and either you have some or you don’t,” said UCA coach John Shulman. “We saw a couple of guys at the end of the game. I’m not an idiot, so I’m going play those guys. They played for Central Arkansas.
“This is all a learning process for our team. A very difficult environment down here, but really good for us. Whatever doesn’t kill you is going to help you in the long run. And you’re going to have to go through some tough times.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Glory (Etim), I thought he played his guts out. Cole (McCormick) played his guts out. Layne played his guts out. Brayden played his guts out. And as he’s walking off the court, he’s apologizing to me, saying ‘Coach I have to be better.’ You want guys that care that much.
“Ben Fox was 2 for 9 and I thought he played his guts out. This is not brain surgery, It’s how are you going to handle adversity and i thought those five guys handled it really well.”
A barrage of three-pointers carried the Golden Lions (2-8) to a 46-30 halftime lead. UAPB, playing just its second home game of the season, made 10 of 23 from the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
UCA made seven threes and 11 free throws in the second half to aid in the comeback. However, for the game the Bears were just 16 of 26 at the free-throw line. Taylor was 5 of 6 and Fox was 4 of 6 at the foul line. UCA dominated the boards, outrebounding UAPB 44-35, including 22 offensive rebounds which resulted in 23 second-chance points for the Bears.
Senior Elias Cato was the only other Bear in double figures with 11 points. Etim had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench. Sophomore Michael Evbagharu finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds, while Fagbemi had 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
UAPB’s Caleb Jones and Quentin Bolton both made six three-pointers and scored 20 and 22 points, respectively.
UCA will take the week off for final exams before facing the Arkansas Razorbacks at 3 p.m. Saturday at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock.
Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.
