27 Dec 2023 Bears fall to Leathernecks

CONWAY — The University of Central Arkansas Bears showed the effects of a 10-day break Wednesday afternoon in dropping a 65-54 decision at home to the Western Illinois Leathernecks at the Farris Center.

The Bears (3-10) shot a season-low 26.7 percent from the field against the Leathernecks (7-6), who have won four consecutive games, including a game on Monday night. UCA was just 4 of 21 from three-point range (19 percent) after tying a season-high with 13 threes in its last outing at Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10. The Bears’ previous low for three-pointers was six on two occasions.

The Bears opened the game 1 for its first 7 attempts from the field, and it did not get much better from there. UCA fell behind by as much as 14 points in the opening half and trailed 33-19 at the break. The deficit reached as much as 19 points in the second half before the Bears fought back to within 10 points at 64-54 in the final minute.

UCA was led by sophomore guard Carl Daughtery, Jr., who scored 11 points off the bench. Junior Elias Cato added 10 points, while sophomore Johannes Kirsipuu and freshman Tucker Anderson had nine points apiece. The Bears had 14 turnovers and just five assists. Senior Masai Olowokere had three of those assists, while Cato added a team-high nine rebounds.

The Leathernecks, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, got 17 points from junior James Dent, Jr. and 14 points and 17 rebounds from 6-foot-11 center Drew Cisse, who leads the nation in rebounding. Cisse’s 16 defensive rebounds helped limit the Bears to one shot per possession and kept the Bears from overcoming their poor shooting.

UCA, which had beaten two consecutive OVC teams in Little Rock and Eastern Illinois prior to Wednesday’s game. won the turnover battle 16-14 but WIU outscored UCA 23-7 in points off turnovers.

UCA has another eight-day break for Christmas before returning against Top 10 Oklahoma on Dec. 28 (6 p.m.) in Norman, Okla., and at Missouri on Dec. 30 (2 p.m.) in Columbia, Mo.