CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears put a scare in the Southland Conference’s top team, UT Arlington, on Saturday before falling 69-61 at the Farris Center.
The Bears (7-14, 2-7), playing without the league’s No. 2 scorer LaQuentin Miles, who was out with an injured ankle, fell behind 16-0 out of the gate, but had the game tied twice in the second half. But the Mavericks (17-5, 9-0) made 9 of 11 free throws in the final 4:45 to win their 13th straight game and keep their two-game lead in the SLC West Division.
“We got off to a really bad start,’ said UCA head coach Corliss Williamson. “I think our guys were a little bit intimidated early on. UT Arlington came in as the best team in the league. They kind of took it to us early and we got knocked back on our heels.
“But our guys decided to come out and fight and we had great effort to get back in the game. I was proud of our guys’ effort tonight.’
The Mavericks scored the game’s first 16 points and held the Bears scoreless for the first 14 minutes until senior Mark Rutledge made a free throw. The lead reached 19-2 before the Bears closed to within six points at 23-17 with 8:25 remaining in the first half. A jumper by Rutledge with 54 seconds left made it 31-28 and the a late basket by Kevin Butler gave the Mavs a 33-28 halftime lead.
“We kept saying on the bench, if we could just get one basket to fall and stop the bleeding,’ said Williamson, “it would help our guys’ confidence. But it took a long time to get that one basket. It was tough going through that drought. Our guys could have easily packed it in and gave up. But they stuck to the task and kept fighing.
“And you have to give UTA a lot of credit, they’ve won on the road, they’re well-tested. That’s why they are the best team in our league.’
Three-point shooting got the Bears back in it and kept them in it in the second half. Ryan Williams made a three at the 16:37 mark to get the Bears within 38-35. After the Mavs pushed it back to nine points, Robert Crawford tied it with a jumper with 9:36 remaining. Senior Dewan Clayborn tied it again with a three-pointer with 7:13 remaining.
But the Bears could never grab the lead down the stretch as the Mavericks, one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the league, made just enough to hold off the Bears.
“We felt confident going into the game that our guys were going to play hard,’ said Williamson. “I told our guys, I was very proud of their effort. If we can go and play that hard in these last seven games, we might be surprised at what happens at the end of the season.’
UCA, a game after going 0 for 10 from three-point range against Northwestern State, made 8 of 27 on Saturday. Clayborn was 4 of 10 and Williams was 3 of 5. Williams topped the Bears with 14 points, while Clayborn added 12. LaMarcus Reed, the No. 3 scorer in the SLC behind Miles, led UTA with 22 points, while Jordan Reves had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Reves was 10 of 12 from the free-throw line.
`”With our team, we have a lot of guys who are capable of scoring the basketball,’ said Williamson. “It is hard to replace 17 points when you look at Miles being gone, but I tell our guys, whenever someone is down, that’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and have a good night. Ryan Williams stepped up for us and had 14 points. He and Dewan hit some big threes for us.
“ It’s difficult when someone is out, especially one of your main scorers, but we have to be able to step up and make up for their absence.’
UCA travels to San Marcos, Texas, on Wednesday to take on Texas State. Game time is 7 p.m.
