The UCA men’s basketball team grabbed its first home win of the season in an 82-39 game against the Hendrix Warriors on Friday, Nov. 10.
The stands were packed with both UCA fans and Hendrix fans and even military guards for the Salute to Service game.
The first few minutes of the game saw the Bears (1-1) start hot, scoring the first nine points on the ball.
Freshman forward Tucker Anderson scored the game’s first points.
Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors (0-1) went on a quick 7-0 scoring run to make the score 9-7 in favor of Central Arkansas.
The Bears responded with their own 7-0 run after a layup by junior guard and forward Elias Cato and five quick points off the bench from junior guard and forward Ibbe Klintman.
The score was 16-7 going into the second timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, both teams traded 3-point field goals and forced multiple turnovers and the score was 23-10 in favor of the Bears.
For the rest of the half, UCA continued the onslaught, making 3-point baskets, scoring layups and forcing turnovers.
Fans were excited as the Bears went into halftime with a 38-22 lead. The half ended on a Hendrix 3-pointer from senior forward Tyler Deithloff.
The second half was more of the same as the Bears continued to display their dominance; scoring the first 13 points in the second half, stretching out to a 51-22 lead.
Three free throws scored by Hendrix made the lead 51-25 at the first timeout in the second half.
Both teams showed their defensive prowess coming out of the timeout. The Bears only allowed five points, while the Warriors allowed nine; making the score 60-30.
For the remainder of the game, the Bears played a suffocating defense, only allowing nine points.
Freshman guard Gavin Muse provided a spark off the bench, putting in five points in the three minutes he played.
The Bears got their first home win of the season with a score of 82-39.
Freshman forward Tucker Anderson led the Bears in scoring with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Junior guard and forward Elias Cato finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked two shots and stole the ball three times.
Junior guard and forward Ibbe Klintman grabbed 17 points.
Sophomore guard Johannes Kirsipuu dished out eight assists, and sophomore forward Ubongabasi “Glory” Etim grabbed 11 rebounds in 16 minutes of play.
At halftime, campus ROTC members took the court with Little Rock Air Base members and participated in a swearing-in ceremony that included over 35 recruits.
Applause rained down on the recruits and both the Warriors and the Bears stayed on the court to shake hands with the ROTC members.
The Bears’ next game will be 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17 on the road against nonconference opponent, the Vanderbilt Commodores (1-1) in Nashville, Tennessee.