The UCA Men’s Basketball Team’s trip to the Sunshine State for two ASUN conference games was a mixed bag, with the Bears taking home a loss and a win against Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida, respectively.
The Bears (9-18, ASUN 5-6) lost 59-55 to the Jacksonville Dolphins (13-12, ASUN 4-7) on Feb. 8 but finished with a close 79-77 win against the UNF Ospreys (13-13, ASUN 6-5) on Feb. 10.
UCA had a solid first half against the Dolphins, putting up 28 points and leading by 4 points going into halftime. The Dolphins’ defense proved to be too much for UCA, though, with Jacksonville scoring 35 points in the second half to UCA’s 27 points, bringing the final score to 59-55.
Despite the Dolphins taking the win — partly thanks to scoring a quick 12 points once the second half started — the game was a close one, and the Bears fought hard for a comeback.
Senior guard Masai Olowokere and sophomore forward Ubongabasi Etim each had 8 rebounds, which made up over half of the Bears’ rebounds for the game.
Etim also successfully dunked on the Dolphins, the Bears’ only dunk of the game.
The Bears had a couple of days off in Jacksonville to recover and recuperate from the loss and prepare for the next game against the University of North Florida, also in Jacksonville, on Feb. 10.
The second game was another nail-biter. The Ospreys came crashing out of the gate, scoring 2 points on the Bears with a dunk from junior guard Chaz Lanier 16 seconds into the first half.
UCA quickly responded with a 2-point layup and it was neck-and-neck from there, with the Ospreys just edging out the Bears by the end of the half thanks to a few 3-pointers, bringing the score to 45-41 at halftime.
The Bears turned up the heat in the second half and put the Ospreys’ feet to the fire, scoring another 38 points. UNF had a harder time penetrating the Bears’ defense in the second half, scoring only 32 points; a far cry from the 45 points they racked up before halftime.
Freshman guard Javion Guy-King looks around to make a pass as a Jacksonville players attempts to stop him. Guy-King scored a total of 16 points during the game.
Junior guard Elias Cato put up 14 points and 10 rebounds against UNF and bolstered the Bears’ defense, his 6-foot-9 frame a major obstacle for the Ospreys trying to shoot past him. Olowokere was another asset for UCA in this game, also scoring 14 points. Freshman forward Tucker Anderson put up numbers as well, netting 12 points for UCA. Etim stayed in the mix this game and raked in a solid 10 points.
UCA is ranked seventh in the ASUN conference after its two Florida games, right below UNF in sixth and hovering two spots above Jacksonville University in ninth place.
The Bears’ next two conference games will be at home in the Farris Center. The first is Feb. 15 against the Austin Peay State University Governors from Clarksville, Tennessee, followed by a Feb. 17 game against Lipscomb University, a private religious school in Nashville, Tennessee.