CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears saw a 13-point second half lead disappear over a 10-minute period and they never got it back in a 71-68 loss to Sacramento State on Saturday night at the Farris Center.
The Bears (1-3) led the Hornets by 10 at halftime, 45-35, then pushed that margin to 13 points on a tip-in by junior Jordan Harks at the 15:56 mark of the second half. But Sacramento State outscored UCA 21-5 over the next 10 minutes to take its first lead of the game on a three-point play by sophomore guard Mikh McKinney with 5:15 remaining.
The Bears, who shot 60 percent from the field in the first half but just 34.6 percent in the second, got it back to a one-point game with 27 seconds left on senior Jarvis Garner’s fifth three-pointer of the game. But McKinney made two free throws for the Hornets (3-1) with 17 seconds to play and UCA misfired three times from three-point range in the final 12 seconds to lose their second consecutive heartbreaker at the Farris Center.
UCA lost to Arkansas State on a late three-pointer last Wednesday night.
“When things are going well,’ said UCA head coach Corliss Williamson, “we’re able to focus in and make shots, make the right plays, make the right box outs. But we tend to lose focus and sometimes maybe feel too good about how things are going and get relaxed on defense. There were a lot of loose balls we didn’t get to. Then we lose focus on our shots as well.
“That’s something we have to continue to get better at. And going on the road, you definitely have to have focus.’
The Bears did a lot of things right in the first half, running out to as much as an 11-point lead, with Garner scoring 15 points (4 threes) and Harks adding eight points inside. UCA led 11-2 and 20-9 before the Hornets crept back into the game around the 7:00 mark. But Garner hit a three-pointer with 2:58 to play in the half, Harks scored inside and Garner added another jumper with 1:23 left to give UCA a 45-35 halftime lead.
The Bears were 7 of 12 from beyond the arc in the first half, with Garner going 4 for 5. Harks and junior All-Southland Conference guard LaQuentin Miles combined for UCA’s first 10 points of the second half before the Hornets took control.
UCA scored just one point from the 15:56 mark until the 9:16 point, then got stuck on 60 points from 8:08 until 4:42.
“You come with a lead at halftime and you’re feeling pretty good about the situation,’ said Williamson. “But we definitely turned the ball over way too much trying to force the issue. We kind of got outside of ourselves. We talked about shot selection at the beginning of this game, and we seemed to lose focus on that. We wanted to force shots. Then on the other end, we couldn’t keep them off the offensive glass.’
Garner finished with a season-high 21 points, while Harks added a career-high 18 on 8-of-11 shooting before fouling out in the final minute. Miles added 10 points for the Bears, who play at Eastern Illinois on Wednesday.
McKinney topped the Hornets with 14 points, while Joe Eberhard added 13 points and 10 rebounds. SSU outrebounded UCA 45-30, including 23 offensive rebounds.
