STARKVILLE, Miss. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears closed out one of the toughest stretches in school history on Wednesday night, dropping an 81-65 decision to the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum.

The Bears, who trailed by just four at halftime after outshooting their Southeastern Conference foe in the opening 20 minutes, went cold in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs to outscore them 42-30 in the final stanza. UCA (0-6) shot 46.4 percent in the first half but just 33.3 percent after the break. MSU got better, from 45.5 percent to an even 50 percent, including six second-half three-pointers.

UCA has faced Arkansas, Ole Miss and MSU in the past five days, all on the road. All three SEC West foes posed different challenges. The biggest obstacle with the Bulldogs was their size, with four starters over 6-foot-6.

"Their guys, with that much size at 6-10 and 6-11, to be able to just stand around the rim like they did, that took its toll on our guys,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "And we just couldn't hang with them after that. We just didn't make the shots.

"We got good looks, we took care of the ball a lot better tonight than we have in any game. We just couldn't make some of those shots. Some of those shots around the basket, of course, their size played a part in that. But they just didn't fall the second half.'

The Bears got eight consecutive points from senior guard Rylan Bergersen to open the game as the Bears overcame an early 6-0 deficit and tied the game at 8-8 with 16:25 left. The Bulldogs, sharp early offensively, pushed out to an eight-point lead but the Bears kept chipping away. A three-pointer from sophomore Jaxson Baker tied it at 19-19 at the halftway point of the half.

Eddy Kayouloud's layup kept it knotted at 24-24 before MSU ran off seven straight points to grabe a 31-24 lead. The Bulldogs would lead by as much as seven once more in the half but UCA answered every time, cutting the margin to just two points three times, including with 27 seconds remaining on Samson George's two free throws. But the Bulldogs made a jumper at the buzzer to set the halftime margin at 39-35.
 

Bergersen had a game-high 12 points at the break as UCA shot 46.4 percent overall and made 4 of 9 from three-point range. 

The Bulldogs (4-3), who are a perfect 4-0 at home this season, pulled away from the Bears in the second half, despite 14 second-half points from Kayouloud as part of his team-high and season-high 20. Kayouloud went 8 of 11 from the field and 2 of 3 from three-point range, while adding 6 rebounds. Bergersen finished with 15 points and a team-high 5 assists, while senior guard DeAndre Jones added 10 pionts and 4 assists.

"Eddy was Eddy,' said Boone of his junior forward who entered the game struggling with 37-percent shooting, including 2 of 11 from beyond the arc. "That was the All-Star Eddy we had tonight. We're certainly thankful that he was focused and ready to go, and really answered the challenge to play against a good team like Mississippi State, a team that brought out a really good performance (from him) this evening.'

The Bulldogs had four players in double figures, with Jalen Johnson and D.J. Stewart scoring 17 apiece, followed by 14 from Iverson Molinar and 10 from Tolu Smith. MSU's 6-foot-11, 255-pound center, one of the top shot blockers in the SEC, was held to 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. UCA got 30 points and nine rebounds from its bench, including six rebounds by SK Shittu.

The Bears finally get to play at the Farris Center on Saturday after six consecutive road games to start the season. UCA hosts Champion Christian at 2 p.m., with free admission (limited attendance) for all fans.