The UCA Men’s basketball team continued its dominant stretch of play, as the Bears overpowered the University of North Alabama Lions 81-60 at the Farris Center on Feb. 4.
The win marks the sixth consecutive victory for Central Arkansas (13-10, ASUN 8-2), their longest win streak since 2007, and the longest conference winning streak since UCA was a member of the NAIA.
Neither team was able to build a lead larger than five points in what was a high scoring first half.
The Bears avoided falling behind by more than a couple possessions despite a 5/17 shooting drought to begin the game.
With Central Arkansas trailing 39-36 with a half-minute to play in the first half, senior guard Camren Hunter drove inside for a layup, prompting a timeout from UCA coach John Shulman.
Coming out of the timeout, freshman guard Tyler Lee stole a pass in the backcourt and scored inside to give the Bears a slim 40-39 halftime advantage.
Central Arkansas would open the second half on a 9-2 run to create some breathing room.
The Lions fought early on in the second half to stay within striking distance, with sophomore guard Kevin De Kovachich scoring a layup to shrink UCA’s lead to 54-48 with 14:59 to play.
From there, UCA put together a 20-5 run to extend their lead to 74-53 with four minutes to play, ending any hopes of a late comeback for the Lions.
Central Arkansas turned up the intensity on the defensive end in the second frame, holding the Lions to just 30% shooting from the field after the Lions shot 48% in the first half.
Shulman voiced his displeasure with his team’s defensive performance and noted the Lions unorthodox offensive strategy postgame.
Shulman said, “We did not play up to our standard in the first half. Defensively, we were atrocious. Give them credit. We’ve been really pressuring the ball well and taking people out of their offense. Well [North Alabama] didn’t run offense. They just got the switch they wanted and played one-on-one, and we did not guard one-on-one very well.”
Freshman guard Luke Moore led the team both scoring and passing with 15 points and 7 assists.
Moore spoke about how the team’s emphasis on getting him the ball off of defensive rebounds and running the break allows him to be at his best offensively.
Moore said “We’ve been talking about that a lot lately, just getting in transition and giving me the ball. My shooters run to the corner and it just spaces everything out and gets us in our offense really quickly.”
Three other Bears joined Moore with double digits in scoring, including sophomore forward Cole McCormick with 14.
Sophomore guard Javion Guy-King and freshman guard Ty Robinson also chipped in with 12 points each.
After scoring 30+ points his last two games, senior guard Camren Hunter was not one of the Bears in double figures.
Hunter scored eight points on just six shot attempts.
Despite the low scoring night, Shulman praised Hunter for his leadership and enthusiasm for his teammates.
Shulman said “Most guys would sulk and pout, but [Hunter] is congratulating everybody in the locker room. He is a flipping dude, and I’m glad that dude is on our team.”
After Austin Peay defeated Lipscomb Feb.4, the Bears now find themselves in sole possession of second place in the ASUN with eight games remaining in the conference season.
UCA now turns its focus to a showdown at Lipscomb (15-9, ASUN 8-3) this Feb. 7, as both teams jockey for position near the top of the conference standings.