The UCA men’s basketball team’s season is officially underway.
The Bears traveled to Jonesboro on Oct. 30 where they battled the Arkansas State Red Wolves in an exhibition charity game to raise money for the Wynne Relief and Recovery Center and lost 112-77. The town is still rebuilding after an EF-3 tornado ripped through the city in March.
The Bears’ coach Anthony Boone said, “We had a great opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the people of Wynne, Arkansas, who were devastated by the tornado in the spring. That was a great cause. The guys were excited about doing that.”
Both teams started the game strong. Going into the first timeout, the Bears had a 12-11 lead. Coming out of the timeout, Arkansas State went on a small run, and eventually brought the score to 24-16, Red Wolves leading.
Arkansas State led the entire first half and ended with a few late baskets to bring the score to 58-39. The half even ended with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Arkansas State junior guard Freddy Hicks.
To start the second half, the Red Wolves scored four quick points following a steal and a layup on both possessions to extend their lead to 60-39.
Both teams scored nine points after the two steals and layup possessions as the Red Wolves led 69-48.
Throughout the game, the Bears continued to show a fight, continuing to score. They did not give up and they continued to be aggressive despite being down on the scoreboard.
Despite the loss, there is still a lot of excitement around the basketball program and a lot of that has to do with how busy the Bears were in the offseason.
The Bears were very active in the offseason, gaining some talent through the recruiting process and the transfer portal. Some names from the portal include graduate student and guard Daniel Sofield, a 6-foot 7-inch transfer from the University of West Florida, and sophomore forward Ubongabasi “Glory” Etim, a 6-foot 9-inch transfer from Bowling Green.
The Bears were also very active in the recruiting poll, gaining some in-state talent. Those named include freshman forward Tucker Anderson, who led the team in minutes played with 31 and was tied as the leading scorer with junior guard Elias Cato, with 22 points.
Anderson also made five 3-point field goals in the game and he led the team in blocks with two. Coach Boone has high praise for the incoming freshman.
“Tucker is a very skilled, high-IQ basketball player. Unsurprisingly he comes from great stock. We could tell from the jump he was going to be a great player and have a great freshman year for us,” Boone said.
Freshman guard Javion Guy-King led the bench scoring with 12 points.
Some other stats from players include senior guard Masai Olowokere, who finished the game with two points, however, he had two steals and two rebounds.
Sophomore guard Johannes Kirsipuu contributed eight points, a team-high of seven assists, and three rebounds.
Junior guard Elias Cato finished with 22 points, but he also grabbed his team-high eight rebounds and one assist.
Junior guard Elias Cato dunks on the Red Wolves home court. The Bears lost the match 112-77, in an off season charity match up. All proceeds went to the Wynne Relief and Recovery Center.
The Bears’ first game in the Farris Center will be 6:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 10, versus in-city competitors the Hendrix College Warriors.