Second-half struggles cost Bears in SLC loss
THIBODAUX, La. — The Nicholls Colonels rallied back from an 11-point deficit on their home court Saturday afternoon and knocked off the University of Central Arkansas Bears 86-79 in Southland Conference action at Stopher Gymnasium.
After trailing 45-39 at halftime, the Colonels (11-8, 5-1) shot
54.2 percent overall in the second half and made 19 of 24, 79.2 percent, at the free-throw line to overtake the Bears (9-10, 3-3). Central Arkansas shot 58.3 percent from the field in the opening
20 minutes, but it followed up with just 38.2 percent shooting in the second half, including 3 of 15 shooting from 3-point range after the break.
“I thought we played good for about 30 minutes,” said Central Arkansas head coach Russ Pennell, whose Bears were ahead for
30:38. “But, unfortunately, I thought their toughness kind of outdid ours. I thought we started settling for shots. I didn’t think we executed very good. I thought we got to standing around too much, everything was a perimeter bomb. We just weren’t very good the last eight minutes or so.”
The Bears’ offense was clicking in the first half, with 7-foot freshman center Hayden Koval hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring 10 points, senior Mathieu Kamba scoring 11 and Central Arkansas hitting 13 of 17 at the free-throw line. However, midway through the second half, the Colonels pieced together a 15-4 scoring run to grab their first lead since the opening basket of the game at 68-67 with 6:48 to play.
Central Arkansas would never lead again as the Colonels forced turnovers and poor shots. Nicholls made Central Arkansas pay at the free-throw line to remain in front. Nicholls finished
24 of 34 at the line, with Tevon Saddler going 11 for 12, all in the second half.
“I just didn’t think we trusted one another, and we have to get that out of our system,” said Pennell, whose team had won two straight games, including one on the road in overtime. “I just didn’t feel like, when it got difficult, we didn’t have someone step forward and want that responsibility, and that cost us.”
Kamba led the Bears with 20 points, hitting 7 of 8 from the foul line, and adding a team-high eight rebounds. Koval scored
16 points and pulled down 6 rebounds, while senior Jordan Howard and freshman DeAndre Jones had 15 points each, with Jones adding 4 assists and 3 steals.
Howard failed to make a 3-point shot for just the fourth time in 108 career games at UCA, going 0-for-8. He entered the game as the league’s top 3-point shooter this season and for his career.
“I thought (Kamba) was aggressive, especially the first half,” said Pennell. “I thought the second half we could have gotten him the ball a little bit more. But I thought, overall, he had one of his better games and we’ve come to expect that from him. Especially after a sub-par, by his standards, game against Incarnate Word when he was coming off the flu, but he bounced back in a really, really good way.
“I thought Hayden had a pretty good game. I think he got tired, and I probably played him a little bit more than I should have. And DeAndre, he plays the game the right way. Everything about DeAndre is about the good of the team. He tries to get everyone involved. He’ll take his shot when it’s there, but he doesn’t force it. I’m really proud of him the way he stepped up. I thought he hit some really big shots. In fact, he hit some shots that kind of got us over the hump to kind of get us back.”
Roddy Peters topped the Colonels with 21 points, while Saddler had 19. Nicholls pulled down 12 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second-chance points. Central Arkansas forced 17 turnovers and scored 22 points off of them.
The Bears continue their road trip with a 7 p.m. matchup tonight against the New Orleans Privateers (8-9, 5-1) at Lakefront Arena. New Orleans is tied with Nicholls atop the Southland Conference standings.