The UCA men’s basketball team pulled off a comeback win against the Jacksonville University Dolphins 62-60 Jan. 15.
“We hopefully learned a very valuable lesson,” coach John Shulman said. “You’ve got to be ready every single night.”
The Bears (9-10, ASUN 4-2) scored the first points of the game and established a 5-point lead in the first two minutes.
The Dolphins (7-12, ASUN 2-4), however, jumped into the lead with an 11-0 run, while the Bears missed seven shots and three turnovers.
Jacksonville was able to increase its lead to 10 points going into halftime, while the Bears struggled to find their rhythm and get the ball into the net.
Shulman said that although the Bears did not play as well in the first half, he was happy with the team’s resilience through the physicality they experienced from the Dolphins.
“We got punched in the mouth and punched in the jaw and punched in the gut,” Shulman said. “And they out coached us, out played us, out hearted us, out [everything] us [in the first half], but we have a very resilient bunch.”
Shulman said he credits the losses the team experienced earlier in the season for the team’s resilience.
“You go on the road and you lose two heartbreaking games in overtime that you really deserve to win, and they make tough shots,” Shulman said. “We don’t stop and we don’t give up, and we’re a relentless team. And a team that doesn’t give up will always have a chance, and tonight gave us a chance.”
Freshman guard Evan Sterck scored the first points of the second half for the Dolphins with a layup with three seconds left on the shot clock.
UCA responded with a dunk by freshman forward Malchiah Marable, followed by a steal from Sterck by senior guard Camren Hunter.
The Bears, however, were unable to capitalize on Hunter’s steal.
Although UCA picked up four rebounds, all field goal attempts in the possession made by the Bears were unsuccessful.
The Dolphins increased their lead to as many as 15 points before UCA freshman guard Luke Moore got the Bears back on track with a 3-pointer, a pair of free throws and a layup.
The Bears started to eat into Jacksonville’s lead with 10 minutes left in the game, with Moore and Hunter scoring layups while the Dolphins missed three consecutive shots.
Sophomore guard/forward Cole McCormick tied the game with a pair of free throws, and Hunter scored a layup to take the lead for the Bears.
Neither team scored for the next two and a half minutes until Jacksonville junior forward Donovan Rivers scored a dunk to tie the game again.
Moore, however, responded with a 3-pointer to retake the lead for the Bears.
With 28 seconds remaining, the Dolphins had the opportunity to tie the game after freshman guard Hayden Wood was fouled.
Wood, however, missed his first two of three free throws.
The Dolphins were able to bring UCA’s lead down to 1 point with a tip-in by senior forward Jason Thirdkill Jr.
However, Sterck fouled Moore with three seconds to play, and Moore was able to score one last point for the Bears.
After successfully making multiple buzzer-beating shots throughout the game, Sterck missed his final 3-point shot of the game, which sealed the win for the Bears.
Moore led the Bears with a career-high of 19 points, followed by Hunter and McCormick with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Moore said that having gained more experience throughout the season helped him to gain the confidence to step into a larger role for the team.
“The experience definitely helps,” Moore said. “I’ve been playing my first year [in college after] playing high school ball all four years, so just experience is helping me.”
The Bears will travel to Carrollton, Georgia to take on the University of West Georgia Wolves Jan. 22.