CONWAY, Ark. _  The University of Central Arkansas Bears needed one more victory Friday night to make the field for the ASUN Conference Tournament, but they came up four points short in an 82-78 loss to the North Alabama Lions at the Farris Center.

The Lions (14-16, 8-8) were red-hot at the free-throw line, going 27 of 28 (96.4 percent) to hold off the Bears (9-23, 5-11). UCA cut an eight-point deficit to just two points twice in the final 40 seconds.

Graduate Daniel Sofield nailed a three-pointer with 37.7 left to close it to 78-76. Then freshman Tucker Anderson did it again with 2.4 seconds left, 80-78. But both times UCA was forced to foul and UNA's K.J. Johnson finished it off with a four straight free throws, with 10.4 remaining and with 1.9 on the clock. Johnson finished 10 of 11 at the line.

"It was hard-fought and the guys gave great effort," said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "Especially on the defensive end. It's hard to lose a game when your opponent shoots less than 40 percent (38.3) and we shoot almost 50 percent (48.1). 

"But we had some costly turnovers, and then some key moments in the game, not just at the end, we missed a couple of easy opportunities around the basket. Just key misses here and there, key turnovers here and there. And that's the difference in the game."

UCA led by as much as 10 points in the first half while shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. But the Lions outscored the Bears 43-33 in the second half, helped by a 16-of-17 performance at the free-throw line after halftime.

"Overall we had a really good game plan," said Boone. "We just couldn't execute on a couple of key possessions. But the guys played really hard and really well for most of the game. Just a couple of possessions where we needed a basket or a stop and we didn't get them."

UCA junior Elias Cato had a career-high 23 points and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds, while shooting 9 of 12 from the field and 3 of 3 from three-point range. UCA was 7 of 15 from the arc and made 21 of 29 at the free-throw line.

Anderson finished with 20 points and was 8 of 8 at the free-throw line. UCA out-rebounded UNA 38-31 and had 30 points in the paint. 

The Bears said goodbye to three seniors, including fifth-year Bear Masai Olowokere, Sofield, a graduate transfer, and Brendan Simmons. Olowokere had 6 points and 3 rebounds, while Sofield had 7 points and 3 rebounds.

The Bears played the entire season without All-ASUN guard Camren Hunter, who injured his foot in the preseason.