STILLWATER, Okla. _  The University of Central Arkansas Bears closed out a long, grueling eight-day road trip with one of their best overall efforts of the season Friday afternoon against another Power 5 team, the fifth on their non-conference schedule.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys used a brief flurry to close the first half to take the lead and then outlasted the Bears 82-73 in a matinee game at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowboys (5-6) broke a four-game losing streak by connecting on 12 three-pointers _ four in the final 2:30 of the first half _ and going 22 of 27 (81.5 percent) from the free-throw line.

"The thing I wanted to get out of this game was fight. I wanted us to fight to the end,' said UCA hcad coach Russ Pennell, who was coaching in front of his mentor, the legendary Hall of Famer Eddie Sutton, whom Pennell coached under at OSU. "We just had kind of a bad lapse the last 10 minutes of the first half that really kind of put us in a hole. You look at that three that they hit right before the half, that was pretty big when we end up cutting it to five or three at different times (in the second half). 

`"We've got to learn to play both halves like it's the end of the game. The challenge today was to play the second half with everything you have, and I thought we did that. I thought we really competed hard. And I don't think we gave in. To be a really good team you just have to be relentless with your effort, and I thought today we were.'

The Bears, who left Conway last Friday for games at New Mexico (Sunday), Indiana (Wednesday) and OSU, started fast for the second straight game, getting a pair of three-pointers from sophomore center Hayden Koval and senior guard Thatch Unruh in the opening four minutes to grab an 11-6 lead. OSU trailed until until a pair of free throws by Lindy Waters gave the Cowboys an 18-17 lead with nine minutes left in the first half. A 10-5 run by the Bears made it a 27-23 UCA lead heading into the final five minutes.

The Cowboys took the lead with four consecutive free throws at the 3:00 mark and then nailed four three-pointers in the final 2:34 to push their halftime lead to 43-33, including one big in the final two seconds.

The Bears overcame fatigue and fought back in the second half, getting as close as three points at 67-64, getting six consecutive free throws from DeAndre Jones, Koval and Unruh. But an 8-0 run by the Cowboys pushed the margin back to double figures heading into the final three minutes. UCA put together a 7-2 run of its own with a Koval dunk, a layup by sophomore Mondesir and a three-pointer from freshman Eddy Kayouloud to close to within 77-71 with 59 seconds left.

OSU hit its final three-pointer and added two free throws in the final 30 seconds to set the final.

Koval, a 7-foot sophomore, had 12 points and 5 rebounds at halftime and finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds, one short of tying his career scoring high. In UCA's last four games, Koval has averaged 16.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and shot 60.4 percent from the field, including eight three-pointers.

"With Hayden, we say a lot, he doesn't know how good he can be,' said Pennell. "Tom Eades, who was one of the referees in this game, a Final Four ref, he ran by the bench and stopped and said, 'Coach, that Koval kid is really good. We talked about him at halftime.' 

"What's happened with Hayden is, he's starting to figure it out. I think our guys are starting to figure out that he's pretty special, too. We've still got to get him the ball more, especially down on the block. He's just now starting to be able to handle that. I'm very pleased with Hayden, I think he kind of found himself these last few games.'

Unruh added 10 points for the Bears (4-8), who made 8 of 24 from three-point range and had just 12 turnovers, while holding the Cowboys to just 40.7 percent overall shooting. Junior guard Curtis Jones, playing in just his second game after transferring from Indiana, led the Cowboys with 23 points, hitting six three-pointers. Cameron McGriff added 17 points and Lindy Waters 10.

UCA will now take an extended holiday break before returning to campus on Dec. 27 to prepare for one more non-conference game on Dec. 30 against Lyon College. Southland Conference play begins Jan. 2 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Pennell played for Sutton for two years at the University of Arkansas before transferring to UCA, and then started his coaching career under Sutton at OSU.

"Happy and sad at the same time,' said Pennell. "I've learned so many lessons from him. I've been out on this court and watched him work. I told him, 'Every day I use something you gave me. I wish I was as good at it as you were. Everything we do is something that you've instilled in my life.'