The UCA Bears men’s basketball team endured its fifth loss of the season against the North Florida Ospreys Jan. 16, with a final score of 92-80. 

“I thought we handled ourselves pretty decent on the road in the first half,” said UCA coach John Shulman to ucasports.com. “They just shot the blood out of it in the second half, so good for them.”

Starting the first half with two missed layups by sophomore guard Michael Evbagharu, the Ospreys (9-10, ASUN 2-4) swooped in with a 3-point shot by senior guard Nate Lliteras. 

Finding momentum, the Bears (5-14, ASUN 1-5) matched the score with a 3-point shot by senior guard/forward Elias Cato. 

Tied at 3-3, the Bears remained stagnant for the next two minutes, allowing North Florida’s Lliteras to sink another 3-point shot and a layup, leaving the score at a 5-point advantage. 

The Bears rose to the challenge, not only leveling the match at 8-8 in under a minute but adding a 4-point lead against the Ospreys in less than four minutes. 

With a fourth of the half underway, UCA kept a steady lead over the Ospreys – ending the half with a 4-point lead, 39-35. 

“We made some really bone-headed plays in the first half, ones that we haven’t been making,” Shulman said to ucasports.com. “When that ball goes in, it covers up some mistakes, and that happened in the first half.”

Although the Bears positioned themselves at an advantage for the second half, it didn’t last long. 

North Florida added 2 points to the scoreboard within the first two minutes of the half, but the Bears quickly recovered. 

Cato sank two free throws, and freshman forward Nehemiah Turner secured a 3-point lead with a layup, leaving the score at 43-40. 

This gap did not last after a 3-point shot sunk by North Florida senior guard Oscar Berry evened the score to 43-43 three minutes into the half. 

While the Bears offered their best fight in those first few minutes, the Ospreys gained the upper hand seven minutes in. 

After a back-and-forth scoring rally, the Ospreys gained a 6-point advantage after two layups and a 3-point shot, raising the score to 56-50. 

UCA battled back with a layup by sophomore guard/forward Diogo Seixas, but in the next minute, North Florida fought back with two 3-point shots and a layup. 

The teams brawled until ten minutes remained, with freshman guard Layne Taylor sinking a 3-point shot and Turner adding a layup to the scoreboard, but the game still sat at 65-57. 

The 8-point lead was the lowest lead the Ospreys held against the Bears for the remainder of the game. 

With eight minutes remaining in the half, North Florida sank another 3-point shot, gaining an 11-point advantage over UCA. 

After dual efforts by Taylor and Cato, UCA struggled to combat the three-point shots of the Ospreys. 

In the last eight minutes, the Ospreys buried the Bears with seven three-point shots, which the Bears couldn’t match. 

Stomped by the Ospreys, the final score was 92-80. 

Though the Ospreys reigned victorious, the Bears led the match in both fast-break points and bench points. 

“I still don’t think we’re as far off as we think we are,” Shulman said to ucasports.com. “We played a really good first half, and we have a couple of things we’ve got to clean up. We talk about hard times make tough men and tough men make successful men. We’re going through some hard times right now, but we’ve got some tough dudes in there.”

The Bears will face Austin Peay at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 23 in the Farris Center.