BEARS' RALLY FALLS SHORT AGAIN IN 75-71 LOSS

CONWAY, Ark. _  Another second-half comeback fell short for the University of Central Arkansas Bears on Wednesday night in a 75-71 loss to the Houston Baptist Huskies at the Farris Center.

The Bears, down by 16 points with 10:15 to play, tied the game at 71-71 on a pair of free throws by senior Thatch Unruh with exactly 1:00 to play. But the Huskies (8-14, 4-7) got a three-pointer from Ian DuBose with 34 seconds left, and a free throw from him with 14.3 remaining to seal it. UCA had three shot attempts in the final 14 seconds but misfired on all three.

UCA (10-15, 5-7) lost its fifth consecutive game, mainly due to poor shooting. The Bears were just 6 of 24 (25 percent) from three-point range and shot 36.9 percent overall. The Huskies were not much better but connected 11 times (of 26) from beyond the arc for 33 of their points. Dubose was 4 of 6 from the arc and scored 21 points. Ty Dalton had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Huskies.

Unruh topped UCA with 22 points, including four three-pointers which ties him for fourth place in UCA history with 164 for his career. Sophomore center Hayden Koval had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocked shots, nearly recording his second triple-double in a row against the Huskies. A year ago, Koval had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocks at HBU.

"We can't find the basket,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "I love the shots we're getting, the shots we generally get. We've just really hit a patch... we're really in a slump. I've seen teams do this, I've seen players do this. But to have just about everyone doing it, it's a little confusing.

"I think the big thing right now is you can't feel sorry for yourself. The ball's not going in the hole, figure it out, get in the gym, work harder. And that's what we're going to have to do. It's really discouraging right now for the guys, and it's our job to try to keep them up and to keep them locked in and to finish strong, to finish a job they are expected to do.'

The Bears held an  18-13 lead after a jumper by freshman Eddy Kayouloud midway through the first half, but the Huskies found the range from the perimeter and outscored the Bears 28-13 the rest of the way to secure a 41-31 halftime lead. HBU made seven three-pointers in the half, more than the Bears made in the game.

A pair of threes and a layup by Unruh in the opening two minutes of the second half drew the Bears within 43-41. But the shots stopped falling for the home team and the Huskies stretched their lead to 16 points and never trailed again. The Huskies, coming off consecutive overtime games, one win and one loss, did just enough to close out the Bears in the final minute.

" I thought Hayden kind of found his way (in the second half), and we kind of played through him a little bit more' Pennell said. "     I was proud we fought back and gave ourselves a chance. We just didn't get a real good shot after that time out.'

Sophomore Jared Chatham came off the bench for the Bears and scored 13 points _ including an impressive rebound dunk _ and pulled down 8 rebounds, both career highs, in 24 minutes of action. Chatham was 4 of 6 from the field and 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.

"When he's aggressive, he's really good because he's a mismatch,' Pennell said of Chatham. "Like the tip dunk he had, you can either do that or you can't. He has that ability to jump. What we've always looked for from Jared was consistent effort, and I thought tonight his effort was really good, and it's been good the last few weeks. And that's why he's getting rewarded with a few more minutes.'

The Bears return to the road for consecutive games at McNeese State next Wednesday and Nicholls State next Saturday.