WEST POINT, N.Y. _ The University of Central Arkansas got a combined 41 points from senior Derreck Brooks and junior Jordan Howard to down the Army West Point Black Knights 81-76 on Sunday afternoon in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at Christl Arena.

    The Bears (1-3) shot 53.3 percent from the field and got 15 first-half points from Brooks to grab a 44-37 lead at halftime. The Black Knights (1-3) made the Bears work for their first victory in the late stages of the game before UCA closed it out with a layup by junior Mathieu Kamba with 1:14 remaining and a pair of free throws by sophomore Tanner Schmit with 21 seconds left.

    "We came out really focused and we jumped on them early,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "We had a great start, which is kind of what we've been harping on, which we had not done to this point. We were playing well, but to their credit, they fought back. We made a few mistakes but I thought it was more just them fighting their way back in.

    "Like I told the guys, the one thing you hope doesn't happen is that the Army basketball team quits,' Pennell joked. "I think it's very important that the Army team always plays hard. I told the guys, 'they are going to come back at you.' They did that but we showed great poise and never gave up the lead. I don't think the game was ever tied.'

    "I just thought overall it was a great team effort, and it was a pretty complete game.'

    UCA, which lost to Chattanooga in Saturday's opener at Christl Arena, shot 49.1 percent for the game and made 18 of 22 (81.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Howard scored 21 points and was 4 of 7 from three-point range and 5 of 5 from the line. Brooks, who missed Saturday's game due to concussion protocol, had 20 points, 4 rebounds and a career-high 7 assists.

    "It bothered Derreck that he didn't get to play last (Saturday) night,' Pennell said. "He was very animated at halftime of last night's game and then he came out tonight and really played well.'
    
    UCA led by as much as 17 points in the first half, 28-11 at the 9:26 mark, on the strength of 13 points from Brooks, including a pair of three-pointers. Brooks finished 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Kamba scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and tied Howard for the team lead with nine rebounds for the game. 

    The Black Knights attempted 36 three-pointers and made 12, led by Luke Morrison, who was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and had a team-high 19 points. Army was only 4 of 10 from the free-throw line and shot 41.1 percent overall.

    "Like we tell the guys all the time, you just have to learn how to win,' Pennell said. "It's not about talent, it's not basketball plays. It's the other stuff. It's the loose ball, it's standing in the right place, all the positioning stuff, rebounding. And I thought tonight we did that. We made all the right plays which put you in a position to win.

    "Besides the first-game jitters at Wisconsin, we've really played pretty well. And now it's nice to have something to show for it.' 

    UCA is off until Saturday when it travels to Western Michigan. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. in Kalamazoo, Mich.