CONWAY – The University of Central Arkansas Bears used a workmanlike 22-12 victory over the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday to improve to 5-0 in the Southland Conference in front of a Homecoming crowd of 10,257 at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The No. 18/20 Bears (6-1, 5-0) won their fifth consecutive game behind their usual stingy defense, one that limited the Cardinals (3-4, 3-2) to 220 yards of total offense, and just 15 rushing yards on 34 attempts (0.4 yards per rush). UCA recorded 12 tackles for loss and three sacks to break the Cardinals’ three-game winning streak. UCA also improved to 6-0 all-time in the series against Lamar, and 3-0 on “The Stripes.’

Lamar took an early 3-0 lead on Juan Carranco’s 30-yard field goal at the 10:50 mark of the first quarter. UCA took a lead it would not reliquish on a 7-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Keshawn Ledet with 13:46 remaining in the second quarter. Matt Cummins added a 19-yard field goal with eight minutes left for a 10-3 UCA lead. Carranco hit from 26 yards to pull the Cardinals within 10-6 at the half.

Lamar had just four rushing yards at the break, despite having the ball for 17:17 compared to 12:43 for UCA.

The Bears grabbed the momentum for good early in the third quarter when they faked a fourth-down play at the Lamar 42 and quarterback Hayden Hildebrand instead punted. Senior wide receiver Desmond Smith downed the ball at the Lamar 1. Two plays later, UCA senior linebacker Garrett Sharp tackled freshman running back Austin Krautz in the end zone for a safety and a 12-6 lead.

Sharp, from McAllen, Texas and Blinn College, finished with eight tackles, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and the safety to earn the L.B. Jackman Award that goes annually to the outstanding UCA player in the Homecoming game as voted on by the media.

From there, UCA got a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hildebrand to senior Kelton Warren, with Matt Cummins’ PAT giving the Bears a 19-6 advantage. Cummins then added a 38-yard field goal for a 22-6 advantage with 9:51 left in the game. Lamar finally found the end zone when backup quarterback Andrew Allen scored on a two-yard run with 5:28 to play.

Lamar’s starting quarterback, Carson Earp, went out on the second series of the game with an injured right shoulder. He was coming off a 412-yard passing effort in the Cardinals’ last-second victory over Northwestern State a week ago. Allen finished 17 of 37 for 151 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. Zae Giles caught a team-high 7 passes for 63 yards.

For the Bears, Ledet led a multiple-player running attack with 43 yards on 11 carries. Hildebrand, a junior from Bossier City, La., completed 14 of 23 passes for 208 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Smith caught 6 passes for 100 yards, moving him into third place in all-time receptions at UCA with 190, surpassing Aaron Fairooz (2003-06).

UCA junior punter Patrick Ponder punted four times for a 45.8-yard average. Sophomore linebacker Raphael Garner led the tackle chart for the Bears with 10 stops, while junior linebacker James Graves finished with three tackles for loss and sophomore Chris Terrell added 2.5 tackles for loss.

The Bears finished with 330 yards of offense, averaging 5.3 yards per play. The Cardinals averaged just 2.9 yards. UCA won despite converting just 3 of 13 third-down conversions and finishing with a season-low 15 first downs.

UCA plays its next two games on the road, at Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La., next Saturday, and at Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas, on Nov. 5.

CONWAY – The University of Central Arkansas Bears spread the wealth Thursday night in opening the 2016 season with a convincing 56-13 victory over the Houston Baptist Huskies in Southland Conference action at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

Eight different players scored touchdowns for the Bears, including a pair of defensive scores, as UCA rolled up 554 yards of total offense and averaged 6.8 yards per offensive play. The Bears scored 21 points in both the first and second quarters to end the suspense early in the SLC opener for both teams.

UCA’s defense held the Huskies to just 242 total yards on 80 plays (3.0 per carry), and just 90 yards in the second half. The Bears recorded 15 tackles for loss for minus 69 yards, following 13 for loss in last year’s 43-7 victory in Houston.

The Bears, who scored on six of their first seven possessions, opened the night with a five-play, 54-yard drive ending in a 3-yard pass from junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to senior receiver Desmond Smith. Matt Cummins added his first of eight PATs for a 7-0 lead at the 11:52 mark of the first quarter. UCA then got a 14-yard touchdown run by senior Kelton Warren and a 1-yarder from Hildebrand to close out the first quarter at 21-0.

Junior rover George Odum blocked a 54-yard field goal attempt by HBU’s Alex Chadwick and senior Tyler Williams returned it 46 yards for a touchdown at the 12:17 mark of the second period. Hildebrand found junior Brandon Cox for a 37-yard touchdown and junior Cardell Best forced a fumble that senior Devin Spurlock returned 2 yards for another score before halftime. The Huskies finally got on the board with Chadwick’s 26-yard field goal with 3:34 left before the half.

Senior running back Antwon Wells posted UCA’s third rushing touchdown, from 2 yards out, for a 49-3 advantage with 9:09 left in the third quarter. Chadwick connected again for the Huskies from 32 yards before redshirt UCA freshman running back Keshawn Ledet got a 13-yard touchdown run with 1:45 remaining in the third. After a UCA fumble, HBU quarterback Max Staver connected with David Racine from 31 yards out midway through the fourth quarter to set the final.

Hildebrand, a junior from Bossier City, La., completed 17 of 21 passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns and rushed for 52 more yards before being spelled by sophomore Kirk Baugh. Freshman running back Carlos Blackman of Gosnell gained 98 yards on 15 carries, all in the second half, to lead all rushers. Senior Jatavious Wilson caught six passes for an even 100 yards for the Beras, while Smith added six catches for 78 yards. Smith moved to fifth in school history with 162 career receptions and seventh in career receiving yards with 2,013.

Defensively, redshirt freshman linebacker Roy Sutton led the tackle chart with seven stops. Spurlock had five tackles, forced a fumble and recovered one. Chris Terrell, Dawson Hadnot and Tyler Williams all had two tackles for loss, while Jordan Toliver and Terrence Partee had 1.5 each.

HBU’s All-Southland Conference linebacker Garrett Dolan finished with 18 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, while fellow linebacker Dorrin Turner added 13 tackles. Tony Dawson completed 10 of 27 passes for 127 yards, while Terrance Peters gained 65 yards on 14 carries. Isaiah Hall caught eight passes for 90 yards.

UCA continues a three-game homestand next Saturday, hosting the Samford Bulldogs at 7 p.m. at Estes Stadium.