LAKE CHARLES, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears dropped to 3-3 in Southland Conference play with an 82-72 loss to the hot-shooting McNeese State Cowboys on Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum.
The Cowboys (6-11, 3-3) connected on 12 of 27 (44.4 percent) from three-point range and answered every offensive spurt by the Bears, usually with a timely three-pointer. UCA, which trailed by 11 at halftime, got back within five points early in the second half but the Cowboys always managed to make a three-pointer to push the lead back to double figures. The Cowboys grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 16 points with three consecutive threes at the 6:00 mark of the second half.
"It was lack of effort. I thought our defense was very poor,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "I'm very disappointed. I'm disappointed in our effort, and I'm not sure why. We just didn't have a good start and then we were really just pushing a rock up a hill the rest of the way.
"And until we make a committment that we really want to be good on the defensive end of the floor, we're a very average team. We can score. We score 72 points, that's enough to win. But you can't give up 82 and I'm very disappointed about that.'
The Cowboys, who had lost three consecutive conference games entering the contest, made six three-pointers in each half, including five from freshman Kalob Ledoux, and three each from Jamaya Burr and James Harvey.
"We're really good at making you a good offensive team,' said Pennell. "They're shooting 31 percent from the three-point line and tonight they shoot 44 (percent) and make 12 of them. We tend to think if someone is shooting 31 percent, we don't have to guard them at all. Like I told them, if you're on scholarship and you're on a college team, you can make a three. Every guy on our team can step behind that line and make a three.'
The Cowboys shot 51.4 percent from the field and grabbed a 45-34 halftime lead when Burr hit a contested three-pointer at the buzzer. Burr and Ledoux had 11 points each for the Cowboys at the break, and Stephen Ugochukwu added 10. UCA's Jordan Howard had 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers as the Bears went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.
After trailing by as much as eight points midway through the first half, the Bears got to within three points at 32-29 on Mathieu Kamba's free throws. But the Cowboys put together a 9-0 scoring run for a 41-29 lead. UCA senior guard Jeff Lowery finally broke the string with a three-pointer with 2:10 to play but Burr's shot at the buzzer made it an 11-point game at the break.
"I'm just really disapponted we didn't play with more passion and more urgency,' said Pennell. "And that's an issue with this group. To be very frank, it's been very difficult. The big thing is this, I think you play basketball with every ounce of energy you have. And if you don't play the game for the right reasons, if you're playing to score points or playing for whatever your personal goal is, and you're not playing like your hair is on fire, especially on the defensive end, you're playing it the wrong way. A
"And part of the growth of this program is trying to instill that in guys. What we're going to have to do it find the right buttons to push or we're going to have to make some hard decisions.'
Howard, who battled foul trouble in the second half, finished with a team-high 20 points, hitting 4 of 8 from three-point range. Kamba addede 18 points, just short of getting a fourth consecutive 20-point outing, while senior Derreck Brooks added 15 points and game-high 11 rebounds.
McNeese had five players in double figures, led by Ledoux with 17.
UCA (4-15, 3-3) returns home Saturday after four consecutive road games, hosting league-leader New Orleans at 4 p.m. at the Farris Center.
