CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. _ Senior Robert Crawford poured in a career-high 39 points as the University of Central Arkansas Bears knocked off the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Saturday night at the Show Me Center.
Crawford, a 6-foot-5 senior from Broken Arrow, Okla., made nearly everything he shot, going 12 of 15 overall, 7 of 9 from three-point range and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. Crawford had 23 points in the second half, going 5 of 6 from beyond the arc, as the Bears (4-3) held off the Redhawks (6-6) for their first victory in Cape Girardeau in the history of the series.
“My heart’s pounding right now,’ said UCA head coach Corliss Williamson. “I call them the cardiac Bears because they love close games. But our guys executed down the stretch, they made free throws when we needed to and I’m just very proud of their effort tonight.
“We just had guys that kept stepping up for us, our starters, off the bench. We’ve been in these type games for the past five games, and our guys are very confident in this situation. They know if we just keep playing _ and this is the way we practice every day _ we can play through adversity. They have done an excellent job of that.’
UCA, the worst free throw shooting team in the Southland Conference and near the bottom in the nation, may have won the game at the line, connecting on 15 of 18 (83.3 percent), including 4 of 5 in the final 41 seconds.
“Rob has done an excellent job working on his game in the offseason,’ Williamson said, “working hard to improve in certain areas. Tonight he shot the ball extremely, extremely well. He really stepped up for us. Without him making all those shots in the second half, I don’t know where we would have been.’
Crawford's 39 points was the sixth-best scoring game in UCA history and his 7 three-pointers was two off the school record.
The Bears took a 42-35 halftime lead on the strength of 16 points from Crawford and another 12 from junior guard LaQuentin Miles. The Beasrs led by as much 9 points, at the 4:18 mark, despite shooting only seven free throws to SEMO’s 17. The Redhawks stayed in the game by hitting 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) and outrebounding the Bears 25-20 in the first 20 minutes. They stayed close in the second half by shooting 65.5 percent (19 of 29) from the field.
The Redhawks, under former Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt, pounded the inside against the Bears, who saw junior Jordan Harks foul out with more than nine minutes left, and Terrell Brown play only 10 minutes because of foul trouble. SEMO grabbed a lead on a couple of occassions in the second half, but never by more than one point. UCA answered each time, with Miles adding 18 points and senior Jarvis Garner 15.
Tyler Stone, a 6-8, 230-pound junior, finished with 32 points and 7 rebounds for the Redhawks, while 6-8, 230-pound Nino Johnson had 21 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
“Their big guys inside are dominant,’ said Williamson. “They are just monsters down on the glass. And we had two guys in foul trouble all night, and basically went with five perimeter players for most of the game. You wouldn’t ever expect to win a game on the road when you’re outrebounded 47-32 and then they also shot 37 free throws.’
UCA’s defense forced 17 turnovers, with freshman Daouda Berete grabbing a game-high 3 steals.
The Bears are off next week for final exams, returning to the court on Dec. 16 at Oklahoma State.
