JACKSONVILLE, Fla. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears had all five starters in double figures and shot 51.6 percent from the field to knock off third-place North Florida 79-77 in ASUN action Saturday afternoon at UNF Arena.

The Bears made six free throws in the final 38 seconds and put together a huge defensive stop as time expired to grab their fifth conference victory of the season, and third on the road. UCA did not shoot its first free throw until the 12:21 mark of the second half but finished 8 of 11 at the line, including the crucial ones down the stretch.

The Bears trailed 45-41 at halftime after the Ospreys (13-13, 6-5) made eight three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, just four short of their per-game average. But UCA's defense tightened up in the second half and forced UNF into 34.6-percent shooting and 5 of 19 from three-point range after halftime. 

UCA used a 9-0 run to grab a 71-65 lead with 2:22 remaining. From their, graduate Daniel Sofield made four straight free throws to offset four straight from the Ospreys. Senior Masai Olowokere pushed the lead back to 79-74 with a pair of free throws with 20.8 on the clock.

UNF's Chaz Lanier, the second-leading scorer in the ASUN who led the Ospreys with 21 points, hit a three-pointer to close it to 79-77 with 13.3 left. UCA misfired on two free throws with 11.4 to play, with Lanier rebounding the second miss. On the other end, he drove the lane against UCA's Elias Cato but was denied on a jumper and a UNF tip-in came after the buzzer.

"Elias is our best defender," UCA head coach Anthony Boone said of the 6-foot-9 junior. "He literally can guard (positions) 1-5, anyone on the floor. And he's our best one-on-one defender. With his length, he just makes it tough. And for someone to hit a shot over Elias, it's got to be a great effort and that guy has to hit a great shot. So it came down to the best offensive player in the ASUN against arguably the best one-on-one defensive player in the ASUN for that last possession.

"And fortunately the defense won out."

Cato led the Bears with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Olowokere had 14 points. Freshman Tucker Anderson made 2 of 3 from three-point range and finished with 12 points, while sophomore Glory Etim and freshman Javion Guy-King added 10 apiece.

UCA shot 7 of 18 (38.9 percent) from three-point range, with five different players making at least one. UNF, the most prolific perimeter shooting team in the ASUN, went 13 of 37 (35.1 percent) from beyond the arc. 

The Bears, who dressed out just nine players, scored 38 points in the paint and won the rebound battle 34-28, with Cato getting his fourth double-double of the year with 10 rebounds. UCA topped 50 percent from the field for just the second time this season, both in road ASUN victories. It was UCA's second consecutive victory over UNF after an overtime victory last season in Conway.

"North Florida is really good at defending the three," said Boone, "so we made our focus on attacking the paint as much as we could to loosen up how they defended us. And that got us free outside some." 

UCA returns home for two games next week, hosting Austin Peay on Thursday and Lipscomb on Saturday at the Farris Center.