In a down-to-the-wire tournament matchup Nov. 25, the Bears fell three points short of the Eastern Michigan University Eagles, 74-71.
The athletes engaged in a seesaw battle throughout the game, with neither team establishing a firm lead.
The Eagles (4-2) enjoyed a small lead for most of the game, but the Bears (1-6) kept on their heels, thanks to shooters like sophomore guard Carl Daughtery Jr., who scored a career-high 24 points.
A buzzer-beating layup from sophomore forward Ubongabasi Etim assisted by senior guard Masai Olowokere gave the Bears a fresh start going into the game’s second half, making the score 36-36.
The score remained close throughout the second half, and the Bears heated up their offense in the game’s final moments trying to make the score even.
With just 19 seconds left, Daughtery Jr. stole the ball outside the paint and then missed a jump shot.
Daughtery Jr. said he felt like he performed “all right” overall, but regretted that play.
“When I got that steal, I should have tried to dunk it or tried to shoot a floater here at the end,” Daughtery Jr. said.
While the Eagles regained possession of the ball, a foul from UCA freshman guard Javion Guy-King gave them a free throw opportunity.
But that didn’t shut out hope for the Bears, as Eagle junior guard Julius Ellerbe missed the free throw; UCA forward junior Elias Cato lunged at the opportunity, grabbing the ball and giving the Bears one more chance to take the match to overtime.
Coming out of a timeout with just seconds left on the clock, graduate student guard Daniel Sofield jumped and missed a three-pointer, concluding the close game.
Daughtery Jr. said, “I think we shared the ball pretty well. I also think that we made our free throws, and then we played as a team, really, so I think we played together well. We’re coming together as a team as the time goes on.”
Coach Anthony Boone said, “We handled the ball well. We passed to each other well for the most part, and overall it was a decent game.”
The Bears finished with a shooting percentage of 42.1%, close behind the Eagles’ 45.3%.
UCA made 40% of its three-pointers to Eastern Michigan’s 47.8%.
Boone said, “This might have been our best shooting game so far this season. We just did not finish around the basket very well, and a couple of key stops that we needed defensively, we didn’t get.”
The Eagles bagged 16 points from turnovers to UCA’s 10.
The Bears struggled to send out a strong starting lineup, and a staggering 38 of UCA’s points came from nonstarting players.
Senior guard Masai Olowokere defends the ball from an Eagles player.
“I told the guys, if we take the first four minutes of the first half, or the first four minutes of the second half away, we win this game by double digits,” he said. “So there’s an issue with the start of the game, and we’ve got to solve that.”
Sophomore guard Johannes Kirsipuu was a valuable asset to the Bears, assisting 13 times.
Boone said Kirsipuu “has been playing extremely well, especially in the last few games.”
“He continues to grow in his role playing point while [junior guard] Cam Hunter is out,” Boone said.
Some of the Bears’ usual key players were missing, but Boone said this isn’t the first time illnesses and injuries have disrupted this season.
“It’s tough for us as a staff, and it’s tough for the guys too, because they don’t know who their teammates are going to be from a game-to-game basis, so I do take that into consideration,” Boone said.
Boone said despite the loss, he’s proud of his team.
“Most of these guys are doing a great job. Under the circumstances, they’re all giving great effort,” Boone said.
Daughtery Jr. said, “I’m going to bring energy and intensity, and I’m going to bring my sport ability” to the tournament’s final matchup Nov. 26 against the New Orleans Privateers.
Against the Privateers, the Bears fought an uphill battle in the first half and caught up in the second, but were ultimately defeated 79-74.
Still, UCA further cleaned up its three-pointer shooting percentage for the game, bringing it up to 46.4%.
The Bears will travel to Los Angeles to play the Loyola Marymount University Lions on Nov. 29. The game will stream on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. central time.