CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With UTSA having defeated UT Arlington earlier in the day, Central Arkansas came into Saturday night's game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi knowing a win would secure the three seed in next week's Southland Conference tournament.
The Sugar Bears wasted little time making sure they got it.
A 21-2 run midway through the first half put the Sugar Bears ahead 35-14 with 7:19 to go before the break and they continued to pour it on from there – extending the lead to as many as 30 before easing to a 85-66 win over the Islanders at the American Bank Center in the regular season finale.
"I thought we took care of business early," Daniel said. "But I thought we lost focus and kind of quit playing when we made subs and got deeper into our bench and we can't do that. Kids want to play and do some things, but they've got to perform when they come in the game."
The Sugar Bears (19-10, 11-5 Southland) finish the regular season third in the league – their highest Southland finish – and will meet sixth-seeded Stephen F. Austin, which defeated Northwestern State on Saturday for that spot, at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
"Our focus shifts immediately to the tournament," Daniel said. "We struggled early in the year and were down in the middle of the standings, maybe as low as seventh, and we fought back to finish with the three seed in the tournament. Now we need to go win three games. To win three you've got to win one, and that's verses Stephen F. Austin. We're going to be as prepared as anybody in the tournament, and it feels good to talk about the tournament in that locker room after the game."
The win marked the first ever for the Sugar Bears over the Islanders, who finish the season 2-27 overall and 0-16 in Southland play – just the sixth team in league history to go winless in conference play. It was the fourth straight win for the Sugar Bears, who have won by an average of 18.3 points per game during that stretch.
UCA got a big night from sisters Destinee and Desiree' Rogers, who combined for 25 points – twice their combined average of 12.1. Desiree' had 13 and Destinee 12, with a combined 17 in the first half. Megan Herbert led the Sugar Bears with 19 points in 26 minutes on 9-of-11 shooting, including 13 in the first half. Desiree' Rogers led all players with seven rebounds. Micah Rice added 11 points for UCA.
The Sugar Bears shot 61.3 percent from the field in the first half as they built a 48-31 halftime lead, including hitting 45.5 percent (5 of 11) from 3-point range. For the game, the Sugar Bears shot 58.6 percent – their fourth consecutive game over 50 percent.
Herbert ends the regular season as the Southland's leading scorer and rebounder for the second consecutive season, finishing with averages of 18.1 points and 11.1 rebounds – including 20.3 points and 11.6 rebounds in conference play.
Corpus got a combined 42 points from seniors Adrienne Scott, Anitra Jeffery and Jade Davis. Scott led all scorers with 20, Jeffery added 12 and Davis 10 in the final game of their collegiate careers.
