Despite a close first half, the men’s basketball (4-4) team fell to Loyola University (3-5) with a score of 85-70 on Nov. 30.
The Bears team leader in points during the Chicago was senior forward Eddy Kayouloud with 21 points, three of which were three-pointers. Kayouloud made five three-pointer attempts and set his season high for three-pointers made and attempted. He was just five points shy of his season high in points, which is 26 points scored against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Bears and the Ramblers traded scores for the first five minutes of the game. The Ramblers started with a three-pointer from redshirt senior Braden Norris, quickly followed by a three-pointer from the Bears’ sophomore guard Camren Hunter.
The teams continued to take turns scoring before the Ramblers ran off into the seventh minute of the game to set the score at 18-5.
“They came out and I think we got rattled with the environment here,” UCA Coach Anthony Boone said. “We haven’t faced this quite yet. Wichita State was a decent environment, but this was totally different.”
The Bears fell to Wichita State 79-55 early in the season.
Next, the Bears watered the scoreboard after the short drought with jumpers from redshirt freshman guard VJ Reeves and junior guard Collin Cooper and two free throws from sophomore guard/forward Elias Cato. The Bears’ streak ended when the Ramblers’ senior guard Marquise Kennedy made a layup to set the score at 20-11, the Ramblers ahead.
The first half ended with the Bears only four points behind at 35-31. Kayouloud made a jumper and layup and junior guard Masai Olowokere made a layup in the last few minutes of the half to narrow the gap.
Loyola wasted no time going into the second half with junior forward Philip Alston making a layup in the first minute. Alston was not done though and continued to score points with three free throws. Altson would score more free throws later in the game.
Redshirt freshman guard/forward Ben Schwieger made a layup to end the Rambler rampage at 42-31.
Cato, Kayouloud and other Bears fought hard with three-pointers and the like to keep up with the Ramblers but it was not enough, the Bears never gaining the lead throughout the game.
“They’ve got a great roster and they have a great staff here,” Boone said. “They are poised to do well I think. They’re working on figuring it out and I think they are well on their way to doing that.”
The last ball in the hoop was a three-pointer by Kayouloud in the final two minutes.
The Bears’ next game was against Arkansas State University on Tuesday, Dec. 6, in Conway. After that, they’ll travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face Oral Roberts University on Saturday, Dec. 10.