CONWAY, Ark. _ To no one’s surprise, pressure defense by Coach Corliss Williamson’s University of Central Arkansas Bears turned their game with the crosstown Hendrix Warriors into an 87-46 blowout on Saturday night at the Farris Center.
In Williamson’s debut on the UCA bench, the Bears let the Warriors hang around early, leading only 5-3 three minutes into the game. But then a 23-4 scoring run allowed UCA to easily pull away and win its season opener before a crowd of 2,023. Three players had career highs in scoring, including senior guard Imad Qahwash, senior center Carlos Dos Santos and junior forward Chris Henson.
“Those guys have really bought into what we’re trying to do here,’ said Williamson, who was coaching his first Division I basketball game. “They’ve worked hard in the preseason and played pretty well tonight.’
The Bears pulled out to a 45-23 lead at the half, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and holding the Warriors to just 27.3 percent (9 of 33). Qahwash had 11 points in the first half and Dos Santos had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Qahwash finished with 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Dos Santos added 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Henson added 14 points and 9 rebounds.
“We had some guys who played hard and did some good things,’ said Williamson. “I thought we rebounded well, and we should have had an advantage there because of our size. We shot the ball pretty well. But there were some things we definitely need to work on.’
Due to injuries, UCA dressed out only nine players, but all nine had points and rebounds. The Bears outrebounded the Warriors 59-33, with every player having at least three. The 59 rebounds tied for the sixth best game in UCA history. The Bears were 21 of 28 from the free-throw line (75 percent) and shot an even 50 percent (31 of 62) from the field.
UCA did have 20 turnovers, including 13 in the first half, and made only 4 of 15 (26.7 peercent) from three-point range.
For Hendrix, which shot 25 percent for the game (18 of 72), guard Jaren Riley was the only player in double figures with 10 points. Riley and Chris Goodman made two three-pointers each as Hendrix went 6 of 26 (23.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bears host UMKC at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Farris Center before traveling to Hawaii for a Friday matchup.
