CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas, one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the Southland Conference, could not buy one at the end of the game Saturday, dropping a heartbreaking 90-85 overtime decision to Stephen F. Austin on Senior Night at the Farris Center.

    UCA, which entered the game making free throws at a 73.2 percent clip, inexplicably finished 15 of 32 (46.9 percent) from the foul line and went 2 of 7 in the overtime period to drop to 0-3 in overtime games this season. 

    The Bears, down by as much as eight points in the extra period, put together a furious 10-1 run to take an 85-84 lead with 39.9 seconds remaining. From there, they missed four consecutive free throws and the Lumberjacks made six straight to seal it.

    "We played well enough to win the game, and that's what I just told the guys,' said a disappointed UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "We just somehow couldn't make free throws. We really did all the things we needed to do. We were attacking the bucket, getting fouled, going to the foul line. And we had a chance to win the game twice.'

    The second-place Lumberjacks made 7 of 8 at the free throw line in overtime and 18 of 25 (72 percent) for the game.

    "I thought we actually the momentum going into the overtime,' said Pennell, "but we came out flat for whatever reason. And I took our last time out when we were down eight and just told them, there's three minutes to go. There's a long time to go in this game. We were almost playing in panic mode.

    "But they just kind of settled down, got some stops and made some buckets and gave ourselves a chance to win. And when we took the lead, I thought we had a pretty good chance of winning.' 

    UCA, fighing for its postseason life, dropped to 8-22 overall and more importantly 7-10 in the SLC with one game remaining next Saturday at Northwestern State. The Bears beat the Demons 107-97 in the first meeting in Conway. UCA needs a victory over NSU and a pair of losses by the Nicholls Colonels to make the SLC Tournament.

    The Bears had four players in double figures, led by junior Mathieu Kamba with 18 points. Sophomore Thatch Unruh added 17 points, hitting 3 of 5 from three-point range. Junior Jordan Howard had a cold shooting night, going 6 of 19 overall and 1 of 10 from three-point range but still finished with 16 points. 

    Senior Derreck Brooks, playing his final game at the Farris Center, had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Fellow senior Jeff Lowery had 7 points and a team-high 6 assists.

    The Bears, who led by 13 points early in the second half, let the Lumberjacks back in the game and ended up trailing by three points at 73-70 with 40 seconds remaining in regulation. Unruh hit a jumper with 23.6 seconds left to get the Bears within 73-72 and Kevon Harris made 1 of 2 at the line for a 74-73 SFA lead with 13.5 left.

    Lowery drove the lane and missed and after a mad scramble under the UCA basket, the Bears had possession out of bounds with 2.6 on the clock. Lowery inbounded to Kamba in the lane and he made the contested shot and was fouled by Ivan Canette. He missed the free throw, sending the game to overtime.

    "I knew they were sitting on Jordan and Derreck so we basically used them as decoys,' said Pennell. "And Thatch just set a heck of a good screen. He kind of set a phony screen for Derreck and he popped to the corner and they went with him. Then I had him bury the big guy under the net so he couldn't get back to Mathieu.

    "And Mathieu set a false screen for Jordan and dove to the bucket. They executed it well. I mean, everyone has good plays, players make plays. We put ourselves in the situation and got the foul line, and we just couldn't close the deal.'

    Canete topped SFA with 16 points, one of five Lumberjacks in double figures. SFA went 10 of 25 from three-point range, compared to 8 of 23 for UCA.