FORT SMITH, Ark. _ Junior center Hayden Koval had a double-double to lead the University of Central Arkansas Bears to a 92-84 exhibition victory over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Sunday in the "Hoops for Disaster Relief" event at the UA-Fort Smith's Stubblefield Center.

Koval scored 23 points in the second half _ 27 total _ as the Bears overcame a 37-33 halftime deficit by shooting 70.4 percent from the field in the second half and going 5 of 8 from three-point range after halftime. 

UCA overcame the red-hot perimeter shooting of ORU, which made 13 of 29 from beyond the arc. Freshman guard Max Abmas hit 6 of 10 from three-point range. The Bears made the biggest difference on the boards, outrebounding the Golden Eagles 39-22, including 14 offensive rebounds.

"I was proud of the way the guys played with toughness,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "You could really see the benefits of a good offseason weight program. Tyler Miller has just done a phenomenal job of getting our guys trained to play basketball, and we saw it on display tonight. Really happy with the way we rebounded the ball and how tough we played around the basket.'

The Bears and Golden Eagles were tied at 70-70 with 4:35 remaining but UCA outscored ORU 22-14 the rest of the way. Back-to-back three-pointers from Koval and junior guard DeAndre Jones gave the Bears the lead for good at 80-78. Koval was then fouled and made the first free throw and rebounded his own miss and put it in for an 83-78 lead with 56 seconds to play.

From there, Jones, Koval, Jared Chatham, Rylan Bergersen combined to make 7 of 8 at the free-throw line to seal the win.

"I just told the guys in the locker room, that I thought our freshmen made some good contributions... but here was the good part. They got to be supporters and they didn't have to be front-line guys. Our veterans stepped up, especially DJ, Rylan and Hayden. And that bodes well for the future.

"I think Hayden's getting where he can play through a disappointment. And to me, that's experience. Sometimes it takes a guy a year or two to get to that point. But he played really well tonight and we need that from him.'

Bergersen, a junior transfer guard from BYU, added 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals and made a pair of three pointers. Jones, a junior guard from Boise, Idaho, and a high school teammate of Bergersen, added 15 points, 3 rebounds and four assists, That pair and Koval played together for one year at Link Year Prep.

"(Bergersen) plays the game the right way, and boy that's reassuring for me,' Pennell said. "Being able to look out there, when I tell him something, knowing the message is going to be sent to the other guys. What I loved about the way this game came down was, it was situational the last few minutes, especially the last 1:27. And there were a lot of teaching moments.

"And I thought Rylan was a guy I could tell anything and the message got to the rest of the guys.' 

Junior Jared Chatham had 6 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Eddy Kayouloud scored 11 points for the Bears.

"Jared is one of those guys you program,' said Pennell. "I told him when he went in, I said you have a big mismatch at your position rebounding wise and I need you to get on the glass. And boy he did. He just went and snatched three big ones for us. And that's what you have to do at the end of games, you have to get stops and you have to make free throws, and we did.'

UCA's defense held ORU to 47.6 percent shooting overall and just 45.5 percent in the decisive second half.

UCA will host the University of the Ozarks in its final exhibition game on Wednesday night at the Farris Center