CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas made it two consecutive hard-earned Southland Conference victories on Saturday with a 71-67 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Farris Center.

A career outing from senior Aaron Weidenaar carried the Bears (3-9, 2-0) to their first 2-0 start in SLC play since joining the league in 2006-07. The Bears will now take a six-day break for Christmas before hitting the road to face Marquette next Saturday in Milwaukee, Wis. Weidenaar, UCA's lone senior, scored a team-high and career-high 20 points off the bench, hitting 5 of 6 from three-point range and 6 of 8 overall.

"I didn't realize he (Weidenaar) had 20 points in 20 minutes,' said UCA associate head coach Anthony Boone. "Aaron was incredible today. He played with a lot confidence. And it's good to see him be comfortable in his role and just relax and play. He just had a really good overall game. He played some really good defense and helped us a tremendous amount.'
 

The Bears, who pulled out an overtime victory over Incarnate Word on Wednesday in their SLC opener at the Farris Center, outscored the Islanders 42-27 in the second half on Saturday, shooting 53.8 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, and overcoming an 11-of-22 performance at the free-throw line in the second half.

But the Bears made enough of their free throws and turned in an impressive effort on the defensive end in the second half, holding A&M-CC (4-8, 0-2) to 34.5 percent shooting overall and 4 of 16 from three-point range in the half. UCA also dominated the boards, outrebounding A&M-CC 43-30, including 14 offensive rebounds.

UCA, trailing 40-29 at the half, outscored the Islanders 18-6 to open the second and tied the game at 47-47 after a three-pointer from Rylan Bergersen and junior Jared Chatham's dunk with 13:00 left to play. The lead went back and forth over the next 10 minutes until UCA went back in front for good on Bergersen's jumper in the lane at the 1:49 mark. 

The Bears then made the back end of four consecutive two-shot free throw opportunities over the final minute to secure the win, their second straight over the Islanders after last year's 20-point victory in the SLC Tournament.

"The first half, we didn't have very good effort, our focus was not very good and we went away from our game plan,' said Boone. "We turned the ball over way too much and we gave up way too much out of defense. We didn't stick to our defensive plan. And at halftime, that's what we talked to the guys about. Our standards and our effort and our focus and our one-on-one defense. They all have to increase a great deal. We told the guys we can do it, we know we can. We just have to put it out there. 

"The second half, the defensive end was a lot better. Our second-half defense was really good. We didn't turn the ball over as much and we attacked inside just enough to get the victory. '

Sophomore Eddy Kayouloud, UCA's leading scorer on the year, continued his steady all-around play with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Bergersen had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, while junior center Hayden Koval had 10 points, 7 assists and 5 blocked shots. Junior guard Myles Smith carried the Islanders with a career-high 31 points _ 21 in the first half _ and hitting 6 of 10 from three-point range. A&M-CC finished 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
"He (Kayouloud) just does whatever we ask him to do,' Boone said. "He's a guy that in our conference, with his size, he can play all five spots. At times we have him playing point (guard), at times we have him playing power forward, then small forward... He can do it all and he does it willingly.'

The next SLC matchup for the first-place Bears will be Jan. 2 at Houston Baptist.