OXFORD, Miss. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears shot as good or better in all three phases as the Ole Miss Rebels on Monday night. The problem was they attempted 17 less shots and it resulted in a 68-54 loss at The Pavilion at Ole Miss.

The Rebels (3-0) entered the game with one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, allowing just 51.5 points per game, with their opponents shooting just 35 percent from the field. UCA exceeded both the point total and the shooting percentage, but just barely. Ole Miss' pressure defense held UCA to 35.4 percent from the field and forced 22 turnovers, leading to the discrepancy in total shot attempts.

UCA (0-5) also lost the services of senior point guard DeAndre Jones early in the second half when he picked up his fourth and fifth fouls in a span of 1:30. Jones leads the Bears in assists and is UCA's second-leading scorer, which left an obvious void for the Bears.

"Our guys gave great, great effort,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone, who was returning to his alma mater and was honored with a pregame video. "And things didn't go as well as we would have liked. We didn't win the battle on the glass like we have been, but that team is a really good offensive rebounding team, and a really good rebounding team overall.

" But we almost caught them. The guys were very focused on the defensive end. It was great effort. It was an ugly game, and we've got to learn to play in those because some teams in our conference play that way. When we play Abilene (Christian), when we play Stephen F. Austin, it's going to be just like that. So this was great preparation for that.'

The Bears could not find their range early in the game and fell behind by as much as 20 points before cutting it to a 12-point deficit at the half as senior guard Rylan Bergersen made a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 35-23 at the break. The Bears shot a seasion-low 24 percent (5 of 21) from the field in the opening half, with four of those made baskets coming from three-point range. 

UCA played Ole Miss nearly even (33-31) in the second half, improving to 44 percent shooting overall despite missing all seven three-point attempts. UCA turned in some defense of its own, holding the Rebels to just 24.2-percent shooting in the second half, including 1 of 14 from beyond the arc. Ole Miss finished 4 of 25 (16 percent) from long distance.

"Our guys showed heart and never rolled over,' said Boone.

The Rebels got two quick fouls on Jones early in the game and ended up limiting him to 2 points and 4 assists.

"We saw that on film coming in, they really pressure, especially their guards,' said Boone. "They really pressure and they make it tough. They were keyed in on DJ, and rightly so. DJ makes everything go and they did a great job guarding him.  They have really good, athletic guards who can really keep someone in front, and there aren't many people in the country that can keep DJ in front of them. That was their game plan and they executed it wonderfully.'

The Bears got a spark off the bench from sophomore Masai Olowokere, who had a career-high 9 points and 4 rebounds in 16 big minutes of action.

"Masia did (play well), and we've been waiting for him to have an opportunity to show what he can do,' said Boone. "He's looked really, really good in practice, maybe our most improved player from last year to this year. Really happy for him to come out and find success on the floor. That was great to see.'

Bergersen led the Bears in scoring with 14 points, while juniors Eddy Kayouloud and SK Shittu pulled down 7 rebounds each. UCA was outrebounded for the first time this season 43-39 as Ole Miss grabbed 16 offensive boards.
 

Boone, a West Helena, Ark., native who played at Ole Miss from 1994-98 and had his jersey retired, said he was grateful for the pregame recognition.

"Once the ball was tipped it was like any other game,' said Boone. "I couldn't tell the difference in being here or being at Saint Louis or at Memphis or Little Rock. It was the exact same. But before the game, and now that the game is over, it's amazing to see what this program has become, the facilities here, all the movement that's going on.

"And I know a lot of it is based on what we did when we were here, when me and my teammates were here, that helped to build this program up. But it was great. This is a special place for me. A lot of effort was poured into this program. And to have the warm reception was just wonderful. It's been awhile since I've been here but I love this place and I'm really glad we had a chance to come here.'  

UCA concludes its three-game Southeastern Conference swing at Mississippi State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.