CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears dominated the second half Sunday afternoon in cruising past the University of the Ozarks Eagles 99-51 in their home opener at the Farris Center.

UCA (1-1) led just 42-32 at halftime but then outscored Ozarks 57-19 in the second half. The Bears shot 55.3 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes while holding the Eagles to just 14.3 percent (4 of 28). For the game, UCA's defense clamped down on the Eagles, holding them to 25.9 percent shooting overall.

"You can win games on the defensive end,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "And the defense will lead to 99 points. I know some people may  just look at the score and say boy, the Bears were really hot. They shot 56 percent. Well if you're shooting layups and dunks, you want to shoot 56 percent. And the whole key to that was our pressure on the wings. They just had trouble getting into their offense.

"And if we can keep building on that, this team has a chance of being really good. Especially now that we have a guy who can protect the rim like (7-foot freshman) Hayden Koval. Hayden is an interesting player. He is 7-foot but he has a lot of guard skills. Passing is one of them, he's and outstanding passer. And he's only going to get more and more comfortable. I know tonight he left a couple of jumpers out there he would like to have back, because he's a really good shooter. 
"But I was really happy with his development and his growth and I thought he showed a lot of poise tonight.' 

The Bears got 24 points from senior guard Jordan Howard, who made 10 of 13 shots and added three assists and three steals. Koval added 12 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots, while senior Mathieu Kamba and freshman DeAndre Jones had 10 points each. UCA got points from 12 of its 14 players who played.

The Eagles had one player in double figures, senior forward Dylan Gray who scored 10 points. Ozarks stayed in the game in the first half by hitting 5 of 9 from three-point range, but went 1 of 8 in the decisive second half. Ozarks also turned the ball over 21 times, while UCA countered that with 21 assists, led by Thatch Unruh's six and three from senior Ethan Lee. As a team, UCA blocked seven shots and had just 9 turnovers.

After trailing 63-43 with 12:02 remaining in the game, the Eagles did not hit another field goal the rest of the way. Their only points eight points were all at the free-throw line, while UCA finished on a 36-8 scoring run.

We feel like that will be a strength of this team, that we can play multiple guys,' said Pennell. "And I think what that allows you to do, as the season wears on, is first of all, you can always absorb some injuries. But more than anything, if a guy is having a off night, there's someone else there to kind of take up the slack. When teams like us in the Southland Conference, when you can accumulate depth, you got a chance. Because we know travel is difficult, we play multiple games sometimes on the road before you get to come home. You're on the bus a long way.

"There are a lot of variables. So what you want are all the advantages you can have. So I think when you have multiple players that are interchangable, that bodes well for you.' 

The Bears return to NCAA Division I action on Wednesday when they take on Top 25 UCLA at storied Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Game time is 10 p.m. (CST) on The Bear 91.3 and the Pac-12 Network.