NEW ORLEANS, La. _ The University of Central Bears beat the first-place New Orleans Privateers at their own game Wednesday night, using tough, aggressive defense and solid shooting to grab an 81-57 victory in Southland Conference action at Lakefront Arena.

he Bears, now 10-10 overall and 4-3 in SLC play, held the Privateers (8-10, 5-2) to just 34.3 percent shooting and turned 17 turnovers into 19 points, including 21 fast-break points. UCA shot 50 percent overall and made 21 of 24 (87.5 percent) at the free-throw line, making their first 19 before a miss. UCA seniors Jordan Howard (24 points) and Mathieu Kamba (23) combined to score nearly as much as the Privateers did as a team.

It was in sharp contrast to the two games against UNO last season, both losses,where the Bears shot 41 percent and 35.6 percent and were outrebounded by 17 and 13. Also, UCA was coming off a seven-point loss at Nicholls last Saturday where it led for 30 of the 40 minutes. But the defensive intensity was the difference Wednesday as the Bears were never really threatened.

"I thought the defense led to the offense early (in the game),' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "And I think so many times in basketball games, you think offense has to be these pretty plays and setting screens, and certainly that is part of it. But the best offense is when you get numbers, and the way you get numbers is on the defensive end, getting stops.

"And I thought the first half especially, they (Privateers) just struggled to move the ball anywhere. I thought we were really swarming them on the defensive end, and that led to some easy buckets. Then when we got the lead, you could just sense the guys were like, we're not giving this up tonight. I felt real good about where we were the entire game because of the attitude of the guys.'

The Privateers made the game's first basket but never led again as the Bears cruised out to as much as a 25-point lead in the first half. Howard had 14 of his points in the first half while freshman point guard DeAndre Jones had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in 17 first-half minutes. 

The Bears kept up the pressure in the second half, forcing seven more turnovers and getting 15 points from Kamba. He finished 9 of 10 at the foul line, while Howard went 6 of 6. The Bears, the top three-point shooting team in the league, had a rare off night from beyond the arc, going 4 of 18, but instead scored inside and in the transition game. The Privateers never got closer than 15 points in the second half, and that came early in the half.

For the final four minutes, UCA kept at least a 20-point lead. Seven-foot freshman center Hayden Koval had 9 points, 4 rebounds and had five of UCA's eight blocked shots, while junior Thatch Unruh added 12 points.

"I thought we made the plays we needed to,' said Pennell. "I thought Hayden (Koval) was such a monster in there. They really struggled with him. He blocked shots, he altered shots, I just thought had had an outstanding defensive game and helping. Because Mathieu had a tough assignment. (Travin) Thibodaux is just really good, he's so skilled with either hand around the goal. But he definitely knew where Hayden was every time he caught the ball.' 

With the 24 points, Howard, from Chandler, Ariz., is now just 28 points short of breaking the career scoring record of 2,157 points held since 1992 by Clifton Bush. He increased his school and conference record with two more three-pointers, giving him 338. Kamba, a senior from Calgary, Alberta, now has 1,232 points, ranking 11th in school history. His 620 career rebounds also ranks him 11th at UCA.

Jones, a 5-11 guard from Boise, Idaho, finished with 6 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 steals. Jones has filled up the boxscore in his past four games, averaging 7.5 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 3.0 steals.

"(Howard) was so patient,' said Pennell. "I really like the way he played. They got after him, and he did hit a couple of tough shots, but they were good shots, unlike what we saw at Nicholls. He responded well, he and Kamba both played like seniors tonight and really, really stepped their game up. 

"And those freshmen don't play like freshmen. They are so poised. DeAndre Jones is just so tough. He just finds ways to beat other teams. He's so smart, and man, does he take pressure off Jordan. where he doesn't have to handle the ball the entire time. And I thought Tanner Schmit was outstanding, especially the first half. And he and Hayden played together, and that's the first time we done that much, but with their lineup we could do it. And I kind of liked it.'

The Bears return home for a 3:30 matchup with Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon, followed the Sugar Bears-Wildcats matchup at 1 p.m.