Box Score
NACOGDOCHES, Texas _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears nailed 10 three-pointers Friday night and had five players with at least 10 points, good enough to secure an 85-73 victory over the Chicago State Cougars in the first game of the Etech Lumberjack Classic being played at Stephen F. Austin's Johnson Coliseum.
The Bears, with four players off the bench in double figures, pulled away late in the first half and were never threatened in the second half as they broke a four-game losing streak and improved to 3-6 overall. It was UCA’s third consecutive victory at the ETech Classic after wins over Cal State Fullerton and Southern last season. UCA will take on Grambling State at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Bears won despite being out-shot and out-rebounded by the Cougars (2-8).
“Coach (Nolan) Richardson used to always say, ‘a raggedy ride is better than a smooth walk.’ ‘ said UCA head coach Corliss Williamson. “We’ll definitely take this win and see if we can come back and improve on our performance tomorrow.
“I think maybe the first minute or two was a little rough on us, we let the pressure affect us. But after that we kind of got in a groove, we started pressuring them and made some shots and the guys really were focused early on in the game.’
The Bears used a nice scoring surge in the final eight minutes of the first half, beginning with a three-pointer from junior guard Dewan Clayborn. Senior guard Imad Qahwash, one of those off the bench, hit consecutive threes and senior TK Smith added another to give the Bears a 36-22 lead. The Cougars closed to within 40-30 at halftime but UCA pulled away for good early in the second half.
Junior guard Mark Rutledge, with a career-high 19 points, made a three-pointer, and Smith and Chris Henson followed with two more, to give the Bears a comfortable 83-63 lead.
“One of the things we’ve been working on the past few days in practice is being patient and trying to work our offense,’ said Williamson, “letting it come to us rather than forcing the issue. I think our guys did a better job of that. As a result, we were able to get better shots. Guys were patient, we looked for the open man and we didn’t force shots.’’
The revamped UCA lineup, with Mike Pouncy (13), Chris Henson (13), Qahwash (12) and Smith (11) coming off the bench, allowed the Bears to outscore Chicago State 49-31 in bench points.
“Great effort from these guys,’ said Williamson. “One thing I was really proud of was Mike Pouncy. He didn’t start tonight but accepted his new role and came off the bench and gave us a spark. And in the second half without Dewan, he was able to step in at the point guard position and lead us on.’
UCA made 10 of 24 from three-point range, with Rutledge going 3 for 3 and Clayborn, Henson and Smith hitting two apiece. The Bears actually shot better from three-point range than overall (40.7). The UCA defense forced 21 turnovers and recorded 12 steals.
Carl Montgomery led the Cougars with 15 points, while his brother Sean Montgomery added 1
