Bears up Southland streak to 3

CONWAY — Central Arkansas’ men’s basketball team went three for three Saturday.

The Bears made 10 threepointers, including eight in the first half, in an 88-59 victory over Lamar in front of 2,095 at the Farris Center.

It’s the first time UCA (8-10, 3-5) has won three consecutive Southland Conference games in Corliss Williamson’s three seasons as coach, and its first victory in 11 tries against Lamar (2-18, 0-8).

“Things are going in the right direction, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Williamson said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do. It’s exciting to accomplish some of these milestones. I don’t want to our guys to be complacent or be satisfied.”

The Bears, who beat McNeese State in triple overtime Thursday, shot 41.9 percent (18 of 43) from the floor and took a 52-29 lead into halftime. They finished 32 of 82 (39 percent) from the floor and made 10 of 28 three-pointers (35.7).

“Any time you can shoot the ball well and get some turnovers, it gives you a chance to get some momentum and get the game up to our tempo,” Williamson said.

Four players scored at least 10 points for UCA, led by junior guard LaQuentin Miles’ 12 points. Senior Robert Crawford, junior Ryan Williams and freshman Zach Padgett added 10 each.

UCA jumped out to a 144 lead in the first 4:05. Jarvis Garner and Daouda Berete hit three-pointers in the run, and the Bears extended the lead to 25-8 on three-pointers by Crawford and Ryan Williams.

Freshman guard Zach Padgett made UCA’s eighth three-pointer of the half to make it 52-29.

“They jumped on us,” Lamar Coach Pat Knight said. “They were moving the ball. We turned the ball over. They have us down by 20 and there’s just no way to come back.”

Jordan Harks’ dunk gave UCA a 62-32 lead early in the second half. Padgett and Williams hit back-to-back threepointers for a 79-46 advantage as Williamson began to clear his bench.

UCA has never played in the Southland Conference Tournament, but with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ineligible for the postseason because of low APR scores, it’s a nineteam race for eight spots.

“Our team is starting to understand that if we play hard every night that we have a chance to beat everyone in our conference,” Williamson said. “If we don’t bring that energy every night or come out and not focus for a half, you put yourself and a hole and lose games.”