CONWAY, Ark. _ A furious second-half comeback by the University of Central Arkansas Bears fell just short Thursday night in a 77-75 loss to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in ASUN Conference action at the Farris Center.

UCA, down by 23 points in the opening minute of the second half, came all the way back to get within one point at 65-64 at the midway point of the half. From there, sophomore guard Camren Hunter and redshirt freshman V.J. Reeves kept the Bears within striking distance the rest of the way.

EKU led 73-72 after Eddy Kayouloud's driving layup with 4:30 left to play. The Colonels (9-7, 2-1) went back in front by five at the 3:30 mark but the Bears got a conventional three-point play by Hunter with 1:51 left. After the teams traded missed shots, UCA inbounded the ball with 6.1 seconds after EKU used its two fouls it had to give.

Kayouloud drove to the basket and was fouled but missed the first free throw. He missed the second intentionally but EKU grabbed the rebound to seal it.

UCA played without three players due to injuries and head coach Anthony Boone, who missed the game with illness. The Bears started slowly, shooting just 37.8 percent in the first half and trailing 49-32 at halftime.

"We've obviously facing a lot of adversity right now," said UCA assistant coach Brock Widders, "but I'm very proud of the way our guys bounced back. We have some players out and we have the heart and soul of our team, Coach Boone, out, and then we dug ourselves quite the hole, 17 points in the first half. 

"But our guys came back and fought. I'm really proud of our effort and our response. We're down 17 without some guys and our head coach, and we responded to the challenge at halftime. Really, really proud of that right there, and that was my message (in the locker room)."

Hunter, the ASUN freshman of the year last season, finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, scoring 14 in the second half.comeback. Reeves, coming off a career-high 24 points in UCA's home overtime loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Monday, came through again with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, hitting 4 of 8 from three-point range. Ten of those points came in the second half as well.

UCA finished 10 of 25 from three-point range (40 percent) and shot 56.7 percent overall in the second half. The Bears outscored the Colonels 43-28 in the second half.

The Colonels shot 61.8 percent from the field in the first half but just 35.3 percent in the second half. Devontae Blanton led EKU with 22 points, while Leland Walker added 14. 

The Bears now go on the road for three consecutive ASUN games, starting Saturday at Austin Peay. Tip-off is set for 4:30 in Clarksville, Tenn.