Bears fall into funk with 22-0 run by Cowboys
The University of Central Arkansas Bears seemed to be in the winning zone Saturday afternoon.
Then, the McNeese State Cowboys got in a zone.
And the Bears zoned out and went into a swoon.
The Cowboys (12-10, 8-2) powered to a 71-56 victory at the Farris Center over the Bears, their seventh straight defeat.
The Bears led 39-38 with 15:11 left. Basing out of a zone defense and taking advantage of 11 UCA turnovers the second half, the Cowboys went on a 22-0 run to lead 60-39 with 8:35 left.
McNeese State then went 4:34 without scoring and cut the deficit to 11. The Bears’ Robert Crawford and Jarvis Garner missed open 3-pointers, the Bears were charged with an offensive foul. Then, Daniel Richard followed a missed dunk with a dunk and the Cowboys inflated their cushion.
“They (the Cowboys) were more aggressive and started attacking the basket,” said UCA coach Corliss Williamson. “We got passive against their zone. We had guys floating wide open and we got rattled. We started playing side to side instead of attacking the basket. We forced shots. We played right into their hands.
“McNeese did a good job of scouting us and seeing we’ve had trouble with a zone. We stopped moving the basketball. Then, we tried to do things on our own instead of setting things up for our teammates. Our turnovers in the second half were very frustrating because they (the Cowboys) were not really pressuring us. It was a passive zone. We had some weak passes. Then, we panicked.”
The Bears (6-16, 2-9) shot 35.5 percent for the game compared to McNeese’s 36.7 percent. Major differences were second-chance points (19-10) and points off turnovers (18-11).
The Cowboys hit 24 of 27 free throws to bhe Bears’ seven of 11. UCA was five of 22 from 3-point range.
“The free throws came from the fact they did a good job attacking the basket,” Williamson said. “That’s how they got to the line. The way the game is called, the free throws usually go to the aggressor.”
The Bears had two players in double figures, Jordan Harks with 12 and Robert Crawford with 10 Jarvis Garner had eight points and 15 rebounds.
Patrick Richard, the SLC’s leading scorer lede McNeese was 22 points and 10 rebounds, all defensive. He had 16 points the second half. Desharick Guidry had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
UCA will go on the road for three straight games, beginning Wednesday night at Sam Houston State.
