THIBODAUX, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears put the Nicholls Colonels on the free-throw line 23 times Saturday afternoon and the Colonels made them pay, knocking down 21 to grab a 78-67 Southland Conference victory at Stopher Gymnasium.
The Bears (5-15, 2-7) trailed by only two at 66-64 on DeShone McClure's driving basket, but the Colonels (10-8, 7-2) outscored the Bears 12-3 the rest of the way. Nicholls, which entered the game shooting only 61.2 percent at the line, made 18 of 19 free throws in the second half, including 6 of 6 by Dantrell Thomas.
UCA senior guard LaQuentin Miles led all scorers with 22 points, while senior guard McClure added 15, hitting 3 of 6 from three-point range. Nicholls countered with three players in double figures, led by Sam McBeath with 20 points. The 6-foot-7 sophomore made 8 of 11 from the field and also added a pair of three-pointers. Thomas was 7 of 7 at the line and added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"We knew coming into the game we would have to shoot in the 70s at the free-throw line,' said UCA head coach Clarence Finley. "We kept it close until the very end. We just didn't get the stops we needed or the big bucket we needed. When you get close, you have to get a stop, you have to get a rebound and you have to get a big shot. They did that and we didn't.'
UCA, coming off a dramatic, last-second victory at McNeese State, could not sustain the momentum Saturday, falling behind early in the game before rallying to close the gap to just 34-32 at halftime. Nicholls shot 56 percent from the field in the first half. The Bears went with a smaller lineup of five guards in the second half and it kept them within striking distance.
Nicholls led by seven points early in the second half but UCA cut it back to two, 50-48 with 11:00 to play on a three-point play by Miles. The Colonels pushed it back to nine points twice before Miles made another three-point play. But after McClure's basket at the 4:17 mark, the Colonels surged ahead for good.
"We got the ball inside, got it to the basket, but we just didn't finish enough of them,' said Finley. "They finished around the bucket and we didn't. I thought we got the ball to the rack and we got bumped but the officials said we were initiating the contact. We just have to learn to finish.'
UCA made just 1 of 7 from three-point range in the second half and shot just 41 percent overall in the final 20 minutes.
The Bears return home to host Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday and SLC newcomer New Orleans on Saturday.
