CONWAY, Ark. – The Sugar Bears had one more opportunity to get back on the tracks before the ASUN Championships, and by the numbers on Saturday, they sure did. Central Arkansas dominated North Alabama 89-63 in the Farris Center to finish off a perfect 12-0 run at home during the regular season.
The win improved the Sugar Bears to 19-10 on the season and finished year three of the ASUN 11-5, after winning seven total games over the first two years. Five Sugar Bears scored in double-figures, led by
Kinley Fisher's 19 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field. Central Arkansas could not miss on its home floor, shooting 61.7 percent from the floor and a ridiculous 84.6 percent from three, the best percentage in a single game in all of Division I this season with at least ten makes.
After surrendering the first two baskets to the Lions, the Sugar Bears battled back and forth with the visitors, with three lead changes and three ties in just the first few minutes. North Alabama was able to build an eight point lead with just under two minutes to go in the frame, but a 4-0 run by the home squad cut the deficit to four before the first quarter buzzer.
Jade Upshaw,
Randrea Wright and Fisher were responsible for all 19 points in the frame, led by Upshaw's eight.
Scoring the final four points of the first and the first seven points of the second swung the momentum in favor of the Sugar Bears early in the second, and gave the home team a three-point lead to boot. North Alabama was able to keep the Sugar Bears from growing the lead too much, peaking at four points until the second quarter passed the four-minute mark. Then, a
Destine Duckworth bucket and a
Bree Stephens three-pointer sprung the lead up to nine. The Lions cut it to five, but a Fisher jumpshot with ten seconds left in the first half put the lead at seven at the break.
Fisher (11 points) and Upshaw (10 points) were both in double-figures after the first half, and the Sugar Bears shot a whopping 85.7 percent in the second quarter, making 12-of-14 shots and all three triples. North Alabama was also shooting 60 percent at the break, hitting four-of-seven from deep.
Central Arkansas broke the lead into double-figures for the first time in the early minutes of the third quarter, using a 10-2 run to jump out by 17 points at the media timeout. But the Lions just couldn't slow down the home squad. The lead peaked at 20 points with 50 seconds left in the third quarter, but settled at 18 after a pair of free throws by the Lions.
Central Arkansas continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter, holding the Lions to 12 points while opening the lead to 27 points. The scoring was balanced across the roster, with seven players scoring in the fourth, and none with more than four points. For the second half, Central Arkansas shot 56 percent from the floor and 71 percent from three, while holding the Lions to 34.6 percent from the floor and 8 percent from distance.
The Sugar Bears now turn their attention to postseason, and that means a third game against North Alabama. With the bracket in stone, Central Arkansas and North Alabama are destined to battle again in the Farris Center, with the Sugar Bears claiming the No. 3 seed and the Lions the No. 6.
