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Bears put up another fight in overtime loss

Central Arkansas took Abilene Christian, the 2019 SLC Tournament champion, into overtime before falling 70-69 in front of a crowd of 1,446.
Credit: Central Arkansas

CONWAY, Ark. —  Over the past two weeks, the University of Central Bears have proven to themselves they can play with the best teams in the Southland Conference.

That was frustratingly on display again Saturday afternoon at the Farris Center, where the Bears took Abilene Christian the 2019 SLC Tournament champion into overtime before falling 70-69 in front of a crowd of 1,446.

The Bears (5-15, 4-5) have, in order, beaten co-No. 2 Sam Houston State, lost to No. 1 Stephen F. Austin on a last-second free throw and lost at No. 2 Nicholls by seven points prior to Saturday's matchup with third-place ACU. Even though the Bears came through that tough stretch with just a 1-3 mark, UCA interim head coach Anthony Boone said he is proud of the recent effort by his Bears against the SLC's best.

"We definitely missed some free throws down the stretch that would have sealed it for us, but overall a really good effort,' he said. "Our guys played well enough to win but just a couple of things didn't fall our way. Our guys were up for the physical battle, they were up for the challenge. The guys definitely played well enough to win.

"And we told our guys, our position isn't really much different now than it was before we played this game. We're still in a decent spot and we still have plenty of games to go. And we played the top four teams in the last four games. If these are the top four, then we think we have a really good chance at the end of the season.'

The Bears, who led by as much as 13 points in a solid first half, took a 32-27 lead to the locker room, setting up an exciting second half where they led for all but five minutes. UCA was ahead 60-54 after a driving basket by Eddy Kayouloud but ACU answered with a three-pointer by Airion Simmons with 1:25 remaining and another jumper by Coryon Mason with 34 seconds left in regulation.

UCA's Rylan Bergersen, who led the Bears with 16 points, made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line before the Wildcats turned it over at the 13.7 mark. UCA senior Aaron Weidenaar was fouled with 11.5 left and also made just 1 of 2 for a 62-59 lead. ACU's Payten Ricks then drove the lane and drew a foul on Kayouloud as time expired. With 1.2 seconds put back on the clock, Ricks, and 88-percent free-throw shooter, hit all three to send the game to overtime.

The Wildcats (11-8, 6-2), who lost in overtime to Nicholls last Wednesday on the road, jumped out to a four-point lead early in the extra period but the Bears forced a turnover and got a layup from Kayouloud with 35 seconds left to get within 68-66. Weidenaar tossed in his second three-pointer of the game to give the Bears the lead at 69-68 with 12 seconds left. Ricks then drove the lane and put in the game-winning jumper with 3.4 seconds remaining.

The Bears outrebounded the Wildcats 48-30, including a season-high 13 from junior center Hayden Koval. Weidenaar added 14 points for the Bears, and junior point guard DeAndre Jones had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Kayouloud scored 11 points. UCA shot 7 of 8 at the free-throw line in the first half but just 9 of 16 the rest of the way. ACU got 24 points from Ricks (5 of 9 from three-point range) and 14 from Mason as the Wildcats made 11 of 28 from beyond the arc.

The Bears' defense held ACU to just 29.5-percent shooting in the first half and 36.1 percent for the entire game. ACU entered the game as the top defensive team in the SLC, allowing just 64 points per game with a +12.5 scoring margin. UCA entered allowing 86.9 points but dropped that average considerably.

Boone said all the Bears can do is get back on the practice court and try to win the next one, which comes Wednesday night against Southeastern Louisiana, an overtime winner over Northwestern State on Saturday.

"We tell them, Monday, all the frustration we're feeling, all the bad feelings we have, we have to bring it into practice,' Boone said. "Practice with that passion and get ready for whoever is coming in Wednesday. Everything we're feeling now, we have to put it into practice and then put it into the game on Wednesday.'

UCA has one more at home at the Farris Center on Wednesday before embarking on a three-game road stretch against Northwestern State, Lamar and McNeese, all teams in the middle of the SLC standings with the Bears.

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