The UCA men’s basketball team (9-18, 4-10 ASUN) endured its 18th loss of the season, this time against Lipscomb University (16-11, 8-6 ASUN) — ending the game with a final score of 93-81.
“You know, offensively, I thought we played really good basketball … Overall, our defense has to pick up,” interim coach Brock Widders said.
The game was fast-paced, with only 12 seconds in, senior guard/forward Eddy Kayouloud made his first three-pointer of the night, with the assist made by junior guard Collin Cooper.
After a missed shot by Lipscomb, junior guard Masai Olowokere passed Cooper the ball, scoring another three-pointer.
With the Bears 4 points ahead after a layup by Lipscomb, Kayouloud returned the favor with a layup in the paint.
Within the next minute, Lipscomb had closed the gap by two points from free throws, after a foul by Cooper.
The Bears quickly recovered, widening the gap with a layup by sophomore guard Camren Hunter.
UCA continued the trend, Hunter scoring another three-pointer, bringing the score to 16-9.
Lipscomb controlled the court for the next few minutes, but the Bears continued to defend.
The defense hastily turned into offense, with a steal by sophomore guard/forward Elias Cato, assisting a three-pointer made by Olowokere.
Elias dominated the court, rebounding a missed three-pointer and completing a layup.
Seconds later, a fast break by Kayouloud results in a dunk.
With 13 minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears still hold a six-point lead on the Bison, 24-18.
Almost thirty seconds after the 13-minute mark, Cato bagged two points for UCA with a layup, assisted by freshman guard Johannes Kirsipuu.
Cooper secured a rebound and finished with a layup.
The game became tense, with several failed shots, as Lipscomb struggled to keep the lead.
Cooper made a layup, making the score 24-29.
Less than a minute later, UCA’s Kayouloud nicked another three-pointer.
Two minutes after this, the Bears became stagnant, allowing Lipscomb to complete two layups.
With 10 minutes left, UCA picked it back up, with two free throws by Hunter and a three-pointer by Kayouloud.
The basketball Bears kept it up, with two sets of free throws completed by Cooper and Hunter.
Down to the last three minutes, Kirsipuu made a layup, making the score 40-34.
Kirsipuu continued and went on to make a layup and a three-pointer.
Now with the clock ticking down from the two-minute mark, UCA was still ahead 45-39, but Lipscomb didn’t give up.
The Bisons made three layups in the last two minutes, evening the score 45-45.
The second half was hard for the Bears, with two missed shots before they could make a point for the half.
Kayouloud finally broke the dry spell with a three-pointer, making the score 47-45.
With Lipscomb in the lead now, UCA tried to pick it up but was unsuccessful.
Two minutes in, Hunter secured a layup, after a missed shot by Kayouloud.
Kayouloud redeemed himself seconds later, making all three of his free throws and a layup, scoring five points for the team in less than thirty seconds.
The game progressed, but UCA couldn’t find its rhythm, missing two three-pointers.
With 15 minutes left, Lipscomb held the lead, 61-55.
Lipscomb dominated the court, creating an even bigger gap within the next few minutes.
Hunter made a layup in the paint, closing the gap, but this didn’t help.
Cato made a layup, followed by three free throws by Cooper.
UCA continued its streak, with a three-point shot by freshman guard Carl Daughtery Jr.
Kayouloud makes two more layups, the gap now closed to three points, 73-70.
The streak didn’t last long, and four minutes went by without the Bears scoring.
Hunter made a layup, but that did not affect the ten-point difference.
With five minutes left, Kayouloud made his last three-pointer of the night, the score now a staggering 89-71.
UCA couldn’t recover in the final four minutes, UCA only making one last shot by Cooper.
Lipsomb ended the game victorious, 93-81.
“What you give up what you give up on defense, it’s going to be a hard win,” Widders said.
The Bears will play Eastern Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 16 in Richmond, Kentucky.