FLORENCE, Ala. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears used a pair of free throws by a true freshman with 4.4 seconds left to hold off the North Alabama Lions 84-81 in a wild ASUN Conference opener on Saturday night at Flowers Hall.

Tucker Anderson had a career-high 24 points, including the deciding free throws that allowed the Bears to pull out the road victory. Anderson was also 5 of 7 from three-point range as UCA finished 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from the arc. They needed all of them after the Lions whittled away most but not all of UCA's 23-point lead over the final 15 minutes.

"We had a pretty big stretch in the game when we played really well," said UCA head coach Anthony Boone, "but then we didn't handle the lead very well. We got a pretty good lead and we're not very accustomed to that when we're playing a good team. So a lot of lessons for us to learn in this game.

"It was an exciting game. I wished I could have watched it as a fan and not as a coach. It was pretty stressful. But our guys did a great job and I was very pleased with them keeping their composure and pulling it out."

The Bears made clutch free throws and survived numerous officials' reviews in the final minute. The Lions got to within two points at 81-79 after a three-pointer with 8.6 seconds left. UCA sophomore point guard Johannes Kirsipuu was fouled and made 1 of 2 at the line, but then fouled on the miss. UNA's Dallas Howell made both free throws with 5.8 on the clock before Anderson drew a foul and sealed it with two at the line.

"A lot or scenarios came up there at the end of the game that the guys handled pretty good, against a team that was really aggressive," said Boone. "And it was extremely difficult to slow the game down and run some time. We're not used to doing that. It was the smart play on our part. It didn't look very good or very pretty but again, our guys gutted it at the end and we came up with the win. "

The Bears used a couple of scoring runs in the first half to sprint out to a 46-28 halftime lead. Anderson contributed 14 points and was perfect from the field, hitting 5 of 5 overall and 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. UCA closed the half on a 15-3 run, capped by a Masai Olowokere dunk. Olowokere, UCA's lone senior, finished the opening half with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

UCA shot a blistering 66.7 percent (18 of 27) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and held UNA to just 35.7 percent. 

The Bears opened the second half with five straight three-pointers by a combination of Anderson (2), Olowokere, Carl Daughtery, Jr. and Daniel Sofield. The lead reached a high of 23 points on a jumper by Sofield at the 15:28 mark. UCA then started to use the clock, but still led by 16 with nine minutes to play. The lead stayed at double digits until the final three minutes. 

Daughtery Jr. finished with 15 points for the Bears, who made 18 of 24 (75 percent) at the free-throw line. Javion Guy-King added 11 points off the bench and Olowokere finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Sofield went 2 of 4 from three-point range and added 9 points.

UCA returns home to the Farris Center for two straight ASUN matchups, against Eastern Kentucky on Thursday and Bellarmine on Saturday.