RICHMOND, Ky. — Free throws just keep adding up to victories for Central Arkansas.
The Sugar Bears made 19 of 22 free throws Tuesday afternoon - including 15 of 16 in the second half - as theycame back to defeat Eastern Kentucky 52-47 for their eighth consecutive victory.
“This team came in here and knocked d o w n f r e e throws whenit counted,” UCA Coach Matt Daniel said. “If you’d have told me we’d go 19 for 22 and Megan Herbert would miss all three, I’d tell you you were crazy.
“The bottom line is we’re 8-2, and it’s certainly a merry Christmas.”
As was the case Saturday against Southeast Missouri, the Sugar Bears were behind by more than 10 in the second half Tuesday, but still found a way to come out on top despite their lowest point total of the season.
“At the end of the year they don’t ask you how; they just ask you how many,” said Daniel, whose team has its highest victory total since the 2006-2007 season. “Rightnow, 8-2 feels pretty good.”
Trailing by as many as 12 in the second half, the Sugar Bears battled back with an 18-7 run to cut Eastern Kentucky’s lead to one with 3:29 left.
With both teams in the midst of a three-minute scoring drought, the Sugar Bears made their move just inside the five-minute mark. Freshman guard Britney Gowans tipped in an offensive rebound with 4:48 to go to cut the Lady Colonels’ lead to 43-38. After getting a steal on the other end, Gowans came back with a pair of free throws to make it 43-40.
Gowans then rebounded a missed free throw by Eastern Kentucky’s Alex Jones and passed to Megan Moss on the offensive end for a jumper near the top of the key to make it 43-42.
After Eastern Kentucky (5-6) pushed its lead back to four, Gowans hit a pair of free throws and came up with a steal that led to two free throws by Nakeia Guiden that tied the game at 46 with 1:58 to play.
Herbert, who finished with game highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds, hit two free throws with 57 seconds left to give UCA its first lead since 2-0 just 12 seconds into the game.
MEN
WESTERN ILLINOIS 55, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 44
MACOMB, Ill. - Shooting and rebounding problems combined to handcuff the University of Central Arkansas (5-7) in its loss to Western Illinois at Western Hall.
The Bears shot just 26.4 percent from the field and simply couldn’t keep up with the Leathernecks, who shot 40.8 percent on the night and outrebounded the Bears 44-28.
“We looked like a team that had been on a five-day road trip, and we played a very physical, tough, defensive team,” UCA Coach Rand Chappell said. “They guarded us extremely hard, and we had a hard time getting baskets.
“We talked about before the game that there was a good chance the game would be in the 50s or 40s, but you still can’t shoot 26 percent. If we shoot 40 percent, I guess we have 50-something ourselves and have a chance to win the game.”
The Leathernecks took a 25-18 lead at the break as the Bears shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the first half.Each time the Bears tried to make a run in the second half, WIU made a threepointer or grabbed another rebound on the other end. The Leathernecks connected on 4 of 6 threes in the final 20 minutes.
James Granstra, a 6-10 center, had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots for the Leathernecks, while guard Ceola Clark added 11 rebounds.
Senior forward Mitch Rueter led UCA with 11 points and Dewan Clayborn added a career-high nine. Senior guard Chris Poellnitz, UCA’s leading scorer coming into the game, was 1 of 12 from the field and had only 2 points and 1 rebound.
Three other players had at least 8 points for WIU, with Clark and David Nurse getting nine apiece.
The Bears return to action Jan. 2 when they open a three-game homestand with a game against Central Methodist.
Sports, Pages 21 on 12/23/2009