BEARS

BEAUMONT, Texas _ It took a rare triple-double by a freshman guard and 27 points from a senior celebrating a birthday and a Southland Conference record for the University of Central Bears to secure a 100-91 double-overtime victory over the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday at the Montagne Center.

Freshman point guard DeAndre Jones, in his first career start, finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists while senior Jordan Howard became the Southland Conference's all-time leading three-point shooter and scored 17 points as the Bears improved to 2-2 in conference play and broke a two-game losing streak. UCA (8-9) outscored Lamar (10-7, 2-2) in the second overtime period to record the victory. Jones' triple-double was just the second in UCA men's basketball history, joining former NBA superstar Scottie Pippen (1987).

The Bears, who played without senior starter Ethan Lee because of injury, made 13 three-pointers, including three from Howard, which gave him 332 for his career, breaking the SLC career mark. Seven different Bears connected from three-point range, including three by freshman 7-foot center Hayden Koval, who finished with 18 points and hit 1 of 2 at the free-throw line with 0.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game to the first overtime.

"I think the thing I'm most proud of, and I told them in the locker room, so much of basketball, and life, is about overcoming adversity,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "And we shot ourselves in the foot several times. Hayden felt horrible that he missed that free throw. And Jordan didn't really attack the basket on the shot in the first overtime. 

"But they just kept on coming back. That's the mental toughness we've been talking about, and we saw it today. Today we were tough enough to win it. I told them at the start of the overtime, well you're going to get home a little bit later, but if we're going to stay this long, we better get the victory. I was proud of the guys, they stepped up and battled through that stuff. Just making plays, making winning plays.'

Howard eclipsed the record in the first overtime but the Bears misfired on a set play as time expired. UCA also lost senior Mathieu Kamba to fouls with 1:38 left in the OT. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and had the unenviable task of guarding Lamar's leading scorer Colton Weisbrod for the majority of the game. Weisbrod finished with 38 points and 11 rebounds and made 16 of 22 at the free-throw line. Lamar shot 38 free throws _ to UCA's 28 _ but was just 4 of 31 (12.9 percent) from beyond the three-point arc after entering the game as the second-best perimeter shooting team in the SLC.

"When you look at our stats, and I realize we scored 100 points and went double overtime, but we have five guys in double figures,' said Pennell. "That's been our MO offensively since we've been here. Even in games we've lost, we've had balanced scoring. And that's what was nice today, the ball got shared a little bit and everyone contributed.' 

Junior Thatch Unruh opened the second overtime with a three-pointer and the Bears never trailed again. Jones had a three-point play and freshman Matthew Mondesir tipped in a shot to give the Bears a 95-89 lead with 3:05 remaining. After a pair of free throws by Weisbrod, Jones nailed his second three-pointer for a 98-91 lead. Mondesir then sealed it with a layup with 34.8 left as the Bears knocked off the Cardinals, who were picked second in the preseason SLC poll.

"I thought our three freshmen were outstanding today,' said Pennell. "DeAndre is good enough to start, and has been good enough all season. And I tell you what it does, it frees Jordan up. And he didn't have a great shooting night, but the thing is, DeAndre takes pressure off Jordan. And he made some huge plays down the stretch. A triple double is really impressive, especially from a freshman point guard.' 
 

Six different Bears connected from three-point range in the first half, with Koval hitting twice. Howard did not make his first three until the 6:00 mark but five others did. UCA led 11-6 early behind threes by Kamba, Koval and Unruh to open the game. Lamar senior forward Colton Weisbrod then took over for Lamar and helped the Cardinals go in front by as much as 26-21 midway through the half but the Bears got a three-point play from Koval, a three from Aaron Weidenaar and Howard's three to get back in it. Koval's second three gave the Bears a 37-36 lead with 4:37 remaining. 

Layups by Jones and Howard pushed that lead to 39-36 before the Cardinals got a three-point play from Torey Noel and a pair of free throws by Weisbrod to take a 41-39 lead into the break. Lamar was just 1 of 14 from three-point range in the first half compared to 7 of 16 for UCA. Lamar got 12 of its points off rebounds, grabbing 12 offensive boards in the opening half.

"I thought as the game went on, we defended him well,' Pennell said of Weisbrod, who is in the Top 10 in the SLC in scoring and rebounding. "He hit some really tough shots. I told him after the game, I am so glad you're a senior. I said, I love the way you play but I hate playing against you. He is a load. He's a really good basketball player. When he figures out something that's working, he's going to stay with it.'

Howard, the SLC's leading scorer who turned 22 years old on Saturday, went 3 of 10 from three-point range to surpass McNeese State's Demond Mallett, who made 331 threes from 1997-2001. Unruh finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, nearly getting his second straight double-double, while Koval had 18 points 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. 
  
"I told him (Howard) at the beginning of the second half, if you'll be patient you will get a run here. They will forget about you,' said Pennell. "And I think he's learning to do that. And he's going to score more in bunches this season instead of it being a consistent deal.'

The Bears return home to face Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Wednesday before another two-game road trip. UCA is in the middle of a stretch of four games in five on the road.