Howard sets 3-point record as UCA men down Lamar in 2OT

BEAUMONT, Texas — The University of Central Arkansas was able to halt a two-game skid Saturday as the Bears took a 100-91 double-overtime victory over the Lamar Cardinals at the Montagne Center.

Overshadowing the victory somewhat was the rare triple-double by freshman point guard DeAndre Jones and the Southland Conference record set by senior Jordan Howard.

Howard, who celebrated his

22nd birthday Saturday, finished with 27 points as he became the Southland Conference all-time leading 3-point shooter with 332 career treys. Jones finished with

13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to become the second player in UCA program history to earn a triple-double, joining former NBA superstar Scottie Pippen (1987).

The Bears (8-9, 2-2) outscored Lamar (10-7, 2-2), who was picked second in the preseason SLC poll, in the second overtime period despite having lost senior Mathieu Kamba in the first overtime due to fouls. UCA sank 13 distance shots on the night, despite playing without injured senior starter Ethan Lee. Howard sank three treys in the game, breaking the SLC mark in the first overtime period.

Freshman 7-foot senior Hayden Koval also sank three from distance, along with five other Bears who connected on 3-point shots. Koval, who finished with 18 points, hit 1 of 2 from the free throw line with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.

“I think the thing I’m most proud of, and I told them in the locker room, so much of basketball, and life, is about overcoming adversity,” said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. “And we shot ourselves in the foot several times. Hayden felt horrible that he missed that free throw. And Jordan didn’t really attack the basket on the shot in the first overtime.

“But they just kept on coming back. That’s the mental toughness we’ve been talking about, and we saw it today. Today we were tough enough to win it. I told them at the start of the overtime, well you’re going to get home a little bit later, but if we’re going to stay this long, we better get the victory. I was proud of the guys, they stepped up and battled through that stuff. Just making plays, making winning plays.”

Kamba left the court with 1:38 remaining in the first overtime. He scored 15 points and picked up nine rebounds while guarding Lamar’s leading scorer, Colton Weisbrod, for the majority of the game. Weisbrod came away with

38 points and 11 rebounds, making

16 of 22 from the charity stripe. Despite out-shooting UCA 3828 at the free throw line, Lamar hit just 4 of 31, 12.9 percent, from distance after entering the game as the conference’s second-best perimeter shooting team.

UCA gained the lead early in the second overtime with a

3-pointer by junior Thatch Unruh and never lost it. Jones put up a three-point play and freshman Matthew Mondesir had a tip-in to give UCA a 95-89 lead with 3:05 left. Weisbrod hit a pair of free throws, but Jones followed with his second trey to put the Bears ahead by seven, 98-91. Mondesir secured the win for UCA with a layup with

34.8 seconds to go.

The Bears took an 11-6 lead early behind treys by Kamba, Koval and Unruh to open the game, but Weisbrod took over for the Cardinals to lead by as much as five midway through the half, 26-21. A three-point play from Lamar’s Torey Noel and and pair of free

throws by Weisbrod put Lamar ahead 41-39 at the break. The Cardinals picked up 12 points off rebounds, grabbing 12 offensive board in the first half, but they nailed only 1 of 14 from distance compared to 7 of 16 for the Bears.

“I thought as the game went on, we defended him well,” Pennell said of Weisbrod, who is in the Top 10 in the SLC in scoring and rebounding. “He hit some really tough shots. I told him after the game, I am so glad you’re a senior. I said, I love the way you play but I hate playing against you. He is a load. He’s a really good basketball player. When he figures out something that’s working, he’s going to stay with it.’

Howard finished with 3 of

10 from distance to surpass McNeese State’s Demond Mallett, who made 331 threes in his career extending from 1997–2001. Unruh had 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, just one rebound from earning his second-straight double-double, and Koval put up

18 points with four boards and two blocked shots.

“I told him (Howard) at the beginning of the second half, if you’ll be patient you will get a run here. They will forget about you,” said Pennell. “And I think he’s learning to do that. And he’s going to score more in bunches this season instead of it being a consistent deal.’

UCA hosts Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Wednesday before hitting the road for another two-game trip.