LITTLE ROCK, Ark. _ The smallest player on the court made the biggest play of the game on Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center.

University of Central Arkansas' 5-foot-11 guard DeAndre Jones tossed in a running, contested three-pointer that just beat the buzzer to lift the Bears to an 85-82 victory over the Little Rock Trojans in the second game of the "Governor's I-40 Showdown."

Jones, a sophomore from Boise, Idaho, took a perfect inbounds pass from senior Thatch Unruh with 2.2 seconds remaining, took one dribble and drilled the three-pointer from just in front of the UCA bench and over Little Rock defender Jaizec Lottie. It was UCA's season-high 12th three-pointer of the game and gave Jones a career-high 26 points, his fourth career high in the past five games.

"I've done this before as a point guard,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell, who played for the Bears in 1983-84. "You can go a long way in 2.2 seconds, more than you think. I told DeAndre, I think you've got two dribbles in you if you're on the run. And he did a nice job of setting the guy (up), he faked like he was going backwards and he just kind of rubbed off of Hayden (Koval).

"And Thatch gave him a great pass, led him right into the shot. I knew he got it off in time, I just wasn't sure it was going to be long enough. I was standing, kind of watching the trajectory of the shot. And man, when that thing went in the net, it was a sweet feeling.'

The win gave the Bears (4-5) a season sweep of the Trojans after a 78-65 win at the Farris Center 10 days ago. It also wrapped up the inaugural "Governor's I-40 Showdown" between the in-state schools. UCA now has 22.5 points to Little Rock's 3.2 with 43 total points available.

The Bears, who came back from a quick 13-2 deficit to open the game, found themselves down five at 82-77 with two minutes to play after the teams had traded the lead back and forth for most of the half, with the lead changing hands 11 times in the final 20 minutes. But UCA grabbed the momentum when Jones connected from three-point range with 1:34 left and then UCA sophomore Jared Chatham tipped in a missed shot to tie the game at 82-82 with 26 seconds remaining.

Working for the final shot, the Trojans (4-6) turned the ball over when Kris Bankston passed it out of bounds toward the Little Rock bench, giving UCA possession in front of the Little Rock bench with 2.2 seconds left. Unruh threaded the pass around a leaping Bankston to Jones, who lofted the shot from well behind the three-point line to win it.

"I think I actually got a really good look,' said Jones, who has led the Bears in scoring three times this season as a point guard, including his previous career high of 23 in the first meeting with the Trojans. "That was a perfect pass from Thatch, and a good screen by Hayden.'

The Bears overcame their rough start and tied the game at 16-16 on Matthew Mondesir's dunk at the 11:30 mark of the first half. UCA then put together another big run, aided by 10 consecutive points from sophomore center Hayden Koval, including a dunk and a pair of three-pointers. Koval finished with a season-high 19 points _ including 3 three-pointers _ and added six rebounds and two steals.

UCA, coming off a big road loss at Louisville on Wednesday  night, outscored Little Rock 42-22 in the final 16 minutes of the first half to take a 44-35 lead at the break.

The second half was a tight battle throughout as the Trojans led by no more than five points and UCA by a high of seven. The Trojans, who were just 4 of 21 from the free-throw line in the first meeting, stayed in this game by hitting 18 of 21 (85.7 percent) for the night. Little Rock's Rayjon Tucker scored a game-high 27 points, including 18 in the second half, to lead four Trojans in double figures.

Tucker's third three-pointer gave the Trojans the 82-77 lead heading into the final two minutes.

"They were hard to guard,' said Pennell. "Tucker is really good. I told him afterwards, 'you're as good a player as we'll face all year.' And I sincerely mean that. He's a phenomenal player that's just gifted offensively and hard to stop.'

The Bears won despite the Trojans shooting a whopping 63.8 percent from the field, aided by numerous dunks. UCA was good enough at 47.7 percent overall and made three times as many (12 to 4) three-pointers. The Bears also used a season-high 16 offensive rebounds to scored 23 second-chance points, including Chatham's tying basket. Chatham, a redshirt sophomore, had 9 points and 6 rebounds, all on the offensive end.

"I was really proud of Jared and I'll tell you why,' said Pennell. "Because at Louisville the other night, I got on him pretty hard in a time out. And the essence of my criticism of him was 'you've got to believe in yourself, because we believe in you.' I felt like when Jared goes in, he tries to play safe. He tries to stay in the game and not make mistakes. And by doing that, he actually makes mistakes.

"And I thought tonight he just went out and played basketball. He played on his instincts. He's long and athletic, and when he's really active around the basket is when he's good. Boy he came up big, we really needed him tonight.'

Mondesir added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench for the Bears, who outscored the Trojans 21-5 in bench points. Jones finished with 26 points _ a career-high six three-pointers _ and seven assists.

"He's a warrior,' said Pennell of Jones. "He plays with a good chip on his shoulder, in a positive way. I trust him as much as anyone we have and I want the ball in his hands at the end of the game.'

UCA takes the next week off for final exams before continuing their five-game road swing at New Mexico (Dec. 16), at Indiana (Dec. 19) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 21).