LAKE CHARLES, La. _ A tale of two halves ended with the shorthanded University of Central Arkansas Bears breaking a five-game losing streak with a dramatic 76-75 victory over the McNeese State Cowboys on Thursday night at the Lake Charles Civic Center.
The Bears, who saw a 17-point halftime lead disappear quickly in the second half, got seven three-pointers and a career-high 23 points from junior guard Aubrey Ball and the game-winning play, or plays, from senior guard LaQuentin Miles. UCA was playing without freshman Jalen Jackson and sophomore Tirrell Brown and dressed out just nine players for the Southland Conference matchup.
After the Cowboys (6-14, 4-4) had gone ahead by four points at 74-70 with just 15 seconds to play, Ball nailed his seventh three-pointer of the night to get the Bears (5-14, 2-6) within 74-73 with 9.8 remaining. McNeese's Ledrick Eackles, who had a team-high 21 points, made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line with 5.2 on the clock.
Miles, who would finish with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, drove the length of the court and put in an off-balance layup in the lane at the buzzer while being fouled by Kevin Hardy. The officials reviewed the play before calling the basket good, tying the score at 75-75, and then put 0.5 seconds back on the clock.
After the five-minute delay for review, Miles stepped to the line and canned the free throw to give the Bears the lead and the victory as Eackles misfired on a desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer.
"Aubrey is a three-point shooter, that's his strength,' said UCA coach Clarence Finley. "When they went to that zone and got us a little stagnant, we got him in the game and he knocked down some big threes. We were 13 of 25 from the three-point line and we needed all of them, every last one of them.
"On the last play, we told him (Miles) to take it all the way to the basket. We thought they wouldn't foul him but they did. And he made the basket and then made the big free throw, too.
"In this five-game losing streak, the kids have been playing well. I told them I was proud of them last week, but we still needed to get a win. They have bought into what we're teaching. They know they have to play defense and they know they have to play as a team. DeShone (McClure) wasn't shooting it well and he took himself out. He took himself out and said 'Get Aubrey Ball in.'
"He wanted to win that bad and he knew his shot wasn't falling, so we got that ball to Aubrey.'
The Bears dominated the first half, shooting a blistering 59.3 percent from the field and hitting 7 of 13 from three-point range, while holding the Cowboys to just 27 percent overall and 1 of 15 from beyond the arc. After enjoying a 42-25 lead at the break, the second half could not have started any worse for the Bears as the Cowboys quickly erased their deficit and then ran out to as much as an eight-point lead.
At one point in the second half, McNeese had outscored UCA 34-9.
"We made some shots in the first half and I thought our matchup zone game them some problems,' said Finley. "But we knew they were going to make a run in the second half. I didn't know they were going to make something like a 30-8 run, though.
"But I felt good about our team because they've been trying to do what we've been asking them to do. I just felt like we were going to come out of here with a win.'
The Bears turned to the perimeter shooting of Ball to keep them in the game in the final 10 minutes. The junior from Carrollton, Texas, who entered with a career high of 12 points, made 5 of 6 three-point attempts in the second half and answered each of McNeese's runs with a big three and then a bigger three. The Bears hit a season-high 13 three-pointers, shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc.
McNeese outrebounded UCA 49-28, including 27 offensive rebounds, but finished 4 of 21 from three-point range (19 percent). UCA also got 12 points from senior DeShone McClure and 10 from sophomore Daouda Berete. Freshman Phabian Glasco had a career-high five blocked shots.
UCA had now won three consecutive games in the series, including a triple overtime game last season in Conway and a one-point victory in Lake Charles.
The Bears head to Thibodaux, La., on Saturday to take on the Nicholls Colonels at 3:30 at Stopher Gymnasium.
