CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears closed out the home portion of their schedule in fine fashion Saturday, holding off the Southeastern Louisiana Lions 74-72 in front of a loud crowd of 1,112 at the Farris Center.

    UCA (2-24, 2-13) made just enough free throws down the stretch to split the season series with SLU. The Bears made 8 of 20 (40 percent) from three-point range and made 20 of 31 from the free-throw line. Junior guard Mike Martin and freshman guard Jordan Howard scored 17 points each, with Howard making four three-pointers and Martin hitting the second of two frees twice and Boo Milligan doing the same, all in the final 34 seconds.

    "It's nice to get the last one at home,' said first-year head coach Russ Pennell. "I told our guys, at least until next November, our fans will remember us winning. The guys have been working hard and it's awful good to get this one, especially the last home game in front of a great crowd.'

    UCA, which lost by 25 in the first meeting in Hammond, La., trailed 33-31 at halftime, after the Lions shot 61.5 percent from the field and grabbed the lead in the final seconds on a dunk by DeVonte Upson. Howard was 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and had 11 points at the break.

    The Lions (9-19, 6-9) stretched that lead to as much as seven points on several ocassions in the second half but the Bears finally tied the game at 62-62 on a pair of free throws by junior center Jake Zuilhof with 3:45 to play. The Lions, who were only 10 of 14 at the line, made 3 of 4 to cut the deficit to 67-65 before Martin and Milligan both made three-pointers to give the Bears a 70-65 lead with 2:10 remaining.



    Kamba made one free throw and Martin _ an 86 percent free-throw shooter _ missed twice as the Bears took a 71-65 lead into the final minute. Cedric Jenkins scored for SLU but Martin made 2 of 4 at the line on back-to-back trips. Jenkins missed a three for SLU with 10.9 left and Milligan was fouled. He missed the first and made the second for a 74-69 lead. The Lions then got a three-pointer from Dylon Maggio that just beat the buzzer to set the final.

    "I thought we came out the second half and had a pretty good look about us,' said Pennell. "Then they hit us with a little run, and we just kept talking at every time out, we're not going to let them get away from us. We're not going to let them run off and have one of these 15-0 runs like we've been giving up. And sure enough, we did just enough to give ourselves a chance. We hit some shots late and here we are.'

    The Bears had 11 turnovers in the first half but just three in the second half, and forced the Lions into 17. UCA also got four blocked shots from Zuilhof and four assists from Milligan. SLU finished 2 of 11 from three-point range after hitting 9 of 19 in the first meeting. SLU shot just 41.2 percent from the field in the second half.

    "I thought we had a couple of guys step up tonight,' said Pennell. "I really like the way Boo Milligan played. I thought he played with a lot of energy, and that's what we want him to do. I think sometimes Boo thinks that if he doesn't score, he doesn't bring a lot to the table. I told him it's just the opposite. He's a very well-rounded player. And tonight, defensively, he was really good. 

    "Then our guard play was good. Mike and Jordan handled the press pretty well and I was really pleased with that. We valued the ball and that's something we been trying to emphasize. I thought we challenged at the rim a lot better in the second half. I thought Jake was much more active in the second half. And Ethan Lee gave us some really good minutes. He was active on the glass and challenging shots.

    "Just pretty pleased overall with our performance.'

    UCA finishes the season with three consecutive road games, beginning on Monday night at Sam Houston State. They will play at Nicholls on Thursday night and at McNeese State on Sunday afternoon.