BEARS STRENGTHEN HOPES FOR SLC TOURNEY BID Sam Houston State University logo Nex

[Seminole Indian]

ABILENE, Texas _ A buzzer-beating putback from junior Thatch Unruh and 29 points from senior guard Jordan Howard carried the University of Central Arkansas Bears to an important 74-72 victory over Abilene Christian on Saturday at Moody Coliseum.

The Bears (14-15, 8-8) and Wildcats (15-14, 7-9) entered the game tied for seventh place in the Southland Conference, with the top eight teams advancing to the conference tournament. ACU already had a victory over UCA back in January at the Farris Center, and therefore the head-to-head tiebreaker in its favor. Saturday's losing team would have a much tougher road to earning one of the eight tournament spots, but Unruh made sure that was not the Bears.

Howard, who was 5 of 8 from three-point range, just missed a late three-pointer with the score tied at 72-72, but did it with enough time remaining to allow Unruh to grab a short rebound on the right side of the lane and put in the game winner, after an official's review. Unruh scored just six points but the final two were as big as any of his career.

"I'm really proud of our guys,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "That was a good game. We made some mistakes but I thought the thing we did more than anything tonight was we battled. We were on the floor, we were hustling, we were really giving it everything we had. Thatch making that big play at the end, sticking with it, was huge.

"I just think that's when you get a little bit tougher minded and you understand what you have to do. We got off to a good start. You always like to lead at the half. And we knew they would hit us in the mouth and they did. We took a time out and we responded. I got a little worried when it got to about the 5-minute mark. It was almost a script of what happened in Conway. And yet there are some little, subtle signs a coach sees in his team.

"And I know Hayden made a really tough rebound and got fouled underneath. And before they had administered the first free throw, we had four guys that were huddling at halfcourt talking. And that's the first time in a while I've seen that. And I thought to myself then, I've got a peace about that they're going to do the right things because they're talking about it. And they did.'

The Bears, coming off three consecutive losses, made 10 of 26 (38.5 percent) from three-point range against the Wildcats, who are the second-best team in the league at defending the three-pointer. After suffering through a perimeter shooting slump over the past week and a half, the Bears got two threes each from senior Mathieu Kamba and freshman center Hayden Koval and Unruh added another to go along with Howard's five. The Wildcats went 3 for 14 from long range.

But for all the offensive numbers, the Bears won the game with a defensive presence in the final five minutes of the game. UCA held ACU scoreless over the final 3:17. On the other end, the Bears were hitting key free throws down the stretch by Howard and Koval, going 12 of 15 from the line in the second half.

Koval, a 7-foot freshman who finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, was a solid 6 of 7 at the free-throw line, all in the second half. Koval leads the SLC in blocked shots with 89, which is just 10 short of tying Durrell Nevels' school single-season record of 99. Kamba had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Koval was held scoreless in UCA's loss at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday night but was a different player Saturday in his 31 minutes of action.

"I thought that showed some toughness,' said Pennell. "They tried to go to their strengths but we got to the shooters. I thought we did a great job on (Jaylen) Franklin, him trying to get inside. We bottled that up pretty good. And the biggest thing is this, when you get the big fella (Koval) in there, he changed the game on the defensive end. He blocked some shots, he changed a couple of other ones. And then he was rebounding the ball.

"I thought he really took a big step. I know he was probably the most disappointed of all our guys at Stephen F. Austin. I saw fire in his eyes. He's an Opie Taylor looking guy, but man, he's got a fire that burns in his belly. And he proved that today.'

UCA led 41-35 at the half after shooting 46.9 percent overall and going 7 of 15 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats, celebrating their Senior Day, came out to start the second half and outscored the Bears 7-0 in the opening 2:45. From there, it was a dogfight, with ACU grabbing an eight-point lead with 7:34 left but UCA rallying back with a 7-0 run.

A solid defensive effort down the stretch set up Unruh's heroics in the final seconds. Unruh, who has started 26 games this season, came off the bench the past two games with freshman Matthew Mondesir starting in his place.

"It takes a kid of character to do that,' Pennell said of his redshirt junior guard. "You're a fourth-year junior and you started most of your career. And your coach comes to you with four games left in the season and says he's putting a freshman in the starting lineup. And I'm sure he didn't like it... I wouldn't like it either. But he accepted it, he didn't sit there and pout.

"And then tonight he makes the play of the game there at the end just by being Johnny on the spot. The one thing I never doubt about Thatch Unruh is his intensity and his focus. That was a huge play tonight.'

Four ACU players finished in double figures, led by Jalone Friday, who scored 15 points before fouling out late. Jaren Lewis added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bears return home for their final two games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday night against Sam Houston State. UCA then hosts Northwestern State on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the Farris Center.

http://www.ucasports.com/news/2018/2/24/mens-basketball-bears-strengthen-hopes-for-slc-tourney-bid.aspx