CONWAY, Ark. _ On a night when basketball took a backseat to patriotism, the University of Central Arkansas Bears still managed to take care of business on Scottie Pippen Court in their home opener, beating their old rival Hendrix Warriors 82-39 on "Salute to Service" night at the Farris Center.

The Bears had three players in double figures in scoring, led by freshman forward Tucker Anderson with 20 points, including 3 of 8 from three-point range and 7 of 8 at the free-throw line. Junior Elias Cato had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while junior Ibbe Klintman scored a career-high 17 points and sophomore center Glory Etim pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Johannes Kirsipuu handed out a career-high eight assists, half of UCA's total.

The Salute to Service, the second year of the event in conjunction with the Little Rock Air Force Base and UCA ROTC, again included a moving swearing-in ceremony of 35+ recruits. Both the Bears and Warriors remained on the court at halftime for the ceremony, then shook the hands of each recruit.

"The ceremony at the half, where all those young people are committing to serve our country, that's an emotional time," said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "A wonderful experience, wonderful to witness. It helps to put things in perspective. We were talking to our guys before the game, I challenged them to be grateful for the opportunity that they have, because it is a privilege to be able to play this sport.

"And they've been blessed physically and mentally to have the ability to play the game, but there are so many people that would love the opportunity to be on a college basketball team. And there are so many people at their age that are committing to serve our country and do incredible things in service to our country and make incredible sacrifices. So to see these young men and women committing to that was very wonderful, very special."

The Bears, who improved to 1-1 on the young season despite playing without four injured players, shot 48.3 percent overall from the field and held the Division III Warriors to 33.3 percent. UCA, as expected, dominated on the board, outrebounding Hendrix 50-33, including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. The taller Bears also dominated in the paint, outscoring the Warriors 30-14 from close range. 

"There wasn't a lot of rhythm as far as our offense goes," said Boone, "but that's because we've been working so much defensively. That's been a deficiency of ours, so we've been really focusing on that and not working as much on the offensive end. This defense that the guys are learning to play is something that will help us throughout the season. And the offense will catch up."

UCA led 38-22 at halftime, then outscored Hendrix 44-17 in the second half. Anderson, a 6-foot-9 true freshman from Bentonville, Ark., had 14 of his points in the second half, scoring eight consecutive at one point early in the half. UCA trailed in rebounding 19-18 at the break but finished with a 17-rebound advantage.i

The Bears' defense forced 21 turnovers and held a team to less than 40 points for the first time since Champion Christian scored 28 on Dec. 19, 2020. Hendrix, which played 16 players, had none in double figures.

UCA returns to the Farris Center at 6:30 Monday to take on another in-state foe in Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Golden Lions are 1-1 after a loss at Missouri and a win over Champion Christian.