LITTLE ROCK, Ark. _ For the second straight time at the Jack Stephens Center, a Central Arkansas-Little Rock basketball game came down to the final shot, and this time the Bears misfired.

UCA senior guard DeAndre Jones, the hero two years ago with a last-second three-pointer, could not pull off the trick again Sunday as the Trojans held off the Bears 86-83 in the "Governor's I-40 Showdown."

The Bears, playing just their second game of the season, but less than 48 hours after their Friday night opener at Memphis, got 23 points and four assists from Jones, including four three-pointers. UCA battled until the end, whittling a nine-point deficit with 1:30 remaining down to just two points, 83-81, on a driving layup by senior Jared Chatham with 24.5 seconds left.

The Trojans made 1 of 2 at the free-throw line with 17.8 seconds on the clock but the Bears answered with a layup by senior guard Rylan Bergersen with 9.5 left to make it a one-point game. Little Rock's Marko Lukic hit two free throws for the 86-83 advantage with 8.5 left before Jones' attempt from the top of the key fell short.

"I think we were lacking a little bit of energy,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "It's hard to ramp back up after playing Friday and then playing again this afternoon. There were a couple of times we were playing very flat and we were pushing the ball up the floor very slowly. We weren't pushing it, we were walking it up the floor. And defensively we were flat. We were letting them catch a little closer than we would normally like. 

"At times we brought some good energy and we made some good runs. We never let ourselves get totally out of the game. We had a chance right up until the very end. So that's encouraging. But we have to do better about having energy and enthusiasm, and having more of a sense of team from everybody. The guys that played, and guys that don't play, too. 

"That was lacking a little bit today. We had that when we played Memphis. But today everybody was a little bit down. I don't know if that was the turnaround, but we have to do a better job of ramping ourselves back up.'

The Bears started slowly but managed to put together a 16-5 run midway through the first half to erase an early 13-4 Trojans lead. Jones had 10 of the 16 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers, another jumper and a pair of free throws. UCA held the Trojans scoreless for three minutes. The Trojans fought back with a 10-run of their own to grabe a 33-30 lead with 4:00 remaining.

UCA got a free throws from Khaleem Bennett to break a 3:30 scoring drought with 2:45 to play. After a Little Rock three pointer, its sixth of the half, the Bears ended the half on a 6-0 run to overcome a five-point deficit. Rylan Bergersen drove the lane for a basket, Samson George scored inside and Jared Chatham converted a fastbreak layup to give UCA a 39-38 halftime advantage.

Jones had 13 points in the first half, going 3 of 4 from three-point range. Both teams shot an even 50 percent from the field while UCA outrebounded Little Rock 18-12. The Trojans connected six times and the Bears three times from three-point range.

"D.J. came out and was ultra focused and played a great game,' said Boone. "He wanted to atone for the last game where he didn't start out very well against Memphis. But today he came out and played great. You couldn't ask for much more from him and what he gave this afternoon. 

"He shot the ball well, he handled it better than he did against Memphis, and played really good defense. This is what we normally expect from him, not necessarily for him to score that many points _ when he is shooting the ball well, that's great _ but just that whole sense of handling the game for us. That's what he did today.'

Bennett, who redshirted last season due to injury, came off the bench for 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

"He brought a lot of energy,' Boone said of the 6-foot-4 sophomore from Hamilton, Ontario. "He rebounded the ball very well. He assaults the glass, and that's what we ask him to do. He gets out in transition and makes some positive things happen. He had a great game, and he's continuing to come along. The rust is starting to shake off for him from that year off. I'm anxious to see what all he will be able to do as we continue forward.'

Senior Jared Chatham also came off the bench with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Bergersen added 14 points and 8 rebounds but did not make a three-pointer after going 4 for 5 against Memphis. UCA outrebounded the taller Trojans 37-36, including 11 offensive rebounds. The Bears also cut down their turnovers from 30 against Memphis to 17 on Sunday.

"We did a really good job on the glass for most of the game, but the last four or five minutes wasn't as good,' said Boone. "But overall it was great. That was our focus, to make sure we rebounded the ball well. And our defense was decent. We played a little bit flat there, especially in the second half, and that was the difference in the game. A couple of possessions down the stretch, a couple of missed opportunities that we had in transition.' 

Junior guard Markquis Nowell led the Trojans (3-2) with 19 points and 13 assists, while 6-10 forward Nikola Maris added 18 points and 7 rebounds. The Trojans made 16 of 23 at the free-throw line in the second half.

The Bears continue a road-heavy slate with a matchup at Saint Louis at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Chaifetz Arena.