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Thomas sparks second half run as A-State tops UCA

ASN — Sat, 17 Dec 2016 15:08:17 +0000

From A-State Sports
Mark Taylor, Assistant Director for Media Relations

CONWAY – Donte Thomas dished out a career high 13 assists, none bigger than an alley-oop to C.J. Foster that sparked a 21-4 run as Arkansas State men’s basketball left Central Arkansas with an 89-77 victory.

The victory improved the Red Wolves to 9-2 on the season, the best start by an A-State team since 2003-04. The win also marked the fourth non-conference road win, most in a single-season since the 1986-87 team had four such wins.

Devin Carter followed his record breaking 3-point outing with a game-high 20 points while Deven Simms equaled his career high with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Connor Kern (11) and Tamas Bruce (10) also reached double figures to help A-State to 80-plus points in back-to-back games. Derreck Brooks led Central Arkansas (1-10) with 12 points and he was one of four players in double figures.

“We had some big turning points at halftime, but we have a ton of respect for Central Arkansas and Coach Pennell,” said A-State head coach Grant McCasland. “They are really close to getting this thing going and I think you’ll see that when they hit conference play. They were great tonight and put us on our heels in transition.”

“At halftime, I was all over Donte Thomas, but he was special in the second half. Finishing with 13 assists and one turnover is a phenomenal effort. He gave us a ton of energy and out of the timeout, (associate head coach) Ross Hodge calls the alley-oop play that Donte threw to C.J. and that was such a pivotal play. Simms was super-efficient and C.J. was solid again, but the guy that made the difference was Connor Kern. He made huge shots, but he stole the ball on one end, blocked a shot on a wide open layup and then finger rolled in a layup on the other end. Donte Thomas and Connor Kern in the second half really changed this game.”

A-State held a 44-39 advantage at the halftime break and Carter hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 47-39 early in the second half. The Bears answered with a 20-8 run to take a 59-55 lead with 13:19 remaining. Central Arkansas remained in control leading 61-60 with 12:20 left. The Bears drove the lane and had a good look at a dunk, but it rimmed out and took the game to a media timeout with 11:58 left.

Out of the timeout, Thomas tossed the alley-oop to Foster at the rim and the slam gave the Red Wolves the 62-61 lead with 11:46 left. From that point, A-State scored the next 10 points to build a 14-point lead. In the second half alone, Kern was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and added a layup and block as the Red Wolves built a 14-point lead, 82-68, with 3:53 left.

The Bears refused to go away though, using a 7-0 run to cut the Red Wolves lead to 82-75 with 2:10 left. A-State hit 7-of-8 at the charity stripe over the final 1:04 to set the final score at 89-77.

The Red Wolves led much of the first half with an early 13-0 run providing the muscle. Central Arkansas led 8-5 with 17:23 on the clock, but A-State scored the next 13 points to hold an 18-10 advantage with 13:08 left.

Carter, coming off his school record 10 3-point night, hit his first and followed it with a layup to spark the run. A-State found a big spark off the bench with 20 of the 44 first half points coming from Simms (12) and Bruce (8). The Red Wolves finished 51.4 percent (18-35) from the field in the first half, but Central Arkansas hit five 3-pointers (5-of-14) and 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the charity stripe to pressure A-State.

The Red Wolves finished the game 49 percent (32-65) from the field and 37 percent (10-27) from 3-point range. Central Arkansas shot 52 percent in the second half (16-31) and finished 46 percent (28-61) on the night. The Bears were 7-for-19 (37 percent) from 3-point range while going 14-of-20 (70 percent) at the charity stripe.

“This time of year, you just go play and we are excited about our next opportunity,” McCasland said. “More importantly though, I’m excited that we found a way to win this one. They had one big push in them, but we had guys step up and make the small plays when it mattered most.”

A-State returns to action Wednesday at the Rocket City Classic in Huntsville, Ala., with an 8 p.m. matchup against Alabama. The game will air on SEC Network+ and be available on Watch ESPN and the ESPN3 platform.

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Johnson sets arena record in Little Rock win over UCA

ASN — Mon, 12 Dec 2016 02:38:53 +0000

From Little Rock Sports
Patrick Newton, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications

LITTLE ROCK – Marcus Johnson Jr. scored 29 points and set a new Jack Stephens Center record with nine made 3-pointers in Little Rock’s 70-59 win over Central Arkansas on Saturday. The Trojans shot 55.6 percent from 3 and made 15 treys as a team.

The win improved Little Rock to 8-2 on the season while the loss dropped Central Arkansas to 1-8.

Lis Shoshi picked up his third double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Shoshi added four assists, a block and a steal in 32 minutes. Kemy Osse scored 12 points while Maurius Hill chipped in eight.

Led by three players with four assists, the Trojans handed out 18 assists on 24 made field goals.

Little Rock held Central Arkansas to 31.5 percent shooting from the floor. UCA outscored Little Rock 18-7 at the foul line.

The Trojans led by five at the break, but Central Arkansas stormed back to take the lead at 47-46 with 13:49 to play. Little Rock responded with a 10-0 run punctuated by two Johnson 3-pointers to push its lead back out to nine with 11 minutes remaining.

UCA would get no closer than six the rest of the way.

Johnson’s 29 points were one shy of his career high and arena record, set against Centenary last season.

The Bears were led by Jordan Howard’s 21 points. Derreck Brooks and Mathieu Kamba also finished in double figures.

Little Rock led UCA 37-32 at halftime as Johnson made six of his 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. The Trojans used a 7-0 run late in the half to grow the lead to 31-24 after the Bears pulled as close as three at 24-21. Central Arkansas closed the half on a 6-0 run to pull within back five.

Little Rock made nine 3-pointers as a team before halftime.

In the first half, the Trojans shot 42.4 percent compared to 30.8 percent for the Bears, but did not attempt a free throw in the first half while UCA made 12 of 15 at the charity stripe.

Next week, Little Rock travels to Flagstaff, Ariz., to face Northern Arizona on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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No. 2 Eagles rally past Bears in FCS Playoffs

ASN — Sun, 04 Dec 2016 15:28:42 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

CHENEY, Wash. – The No. 2 seeded Eastern Washington Eagles overcame a 14-0 deficit Saturday afternoon to beat the University of Central Arkansas Bears, 31-14, in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at Roos Field.

The Eagles (11-1), the national champion in 2010 and perennial playoff team, scored 31 consecutive points after trailing late in the second quarter. After the slow start, EWU put up 531 yards of total offense, including 457 through the air. UCA’s stout run defense, ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season, held the Eagles to 74 yards on 34 attempts, including 68 yards in losses.

But UCA (10-3), after the 14 consecutive second-quarter points, was limited to a season-low 244 yards of total offense. EWU ran 100 plays to UCA’s 61, resulting in a tired Bears’ defense in the second half.

“Very disappointed in the way the game turned out,’ said UCA head coach Steve Campbell. “I felt like early we had a lot of good things going for us. But I felt the game kind of changed there somewhere in the second quarter. We were up 14-0 and felt like we really had a lot of momentum. But then they scored, we had the turnover and they scored, and then we gave up another one there before the half.

“Then offensively after that, we had a hard time getting anything going. We felt like we could run the football on them early, and we did. But those guys have been there before. Eastern has kind of dug themselves a hole before but they’ve always managed to fight themselves out of it. And they were able to do that again today. So congratulations to them, they’re a great football team. But it’s bitterly disappointing to us because we felt like we had opportunities today.’

The Bears grabbed a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter, utilizing a versatile and efficient offense directed by junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand. UCA put up the first points of the game on a 4-yard run by freshman Carlos Blackman off a direct snap, capping a 13-play, 71-yard drive. The Bears then got a big 15-yard sack by junior Chris Chambers and forced an Eagles punt that Tre Smith returned past midfield to set the Bears up at the EWU 47.

A 24-yard pass from Hildebrand to Roman Gordon and a 15-yard run by senior Antwon Wells set up a 2-yard touchdown run from Wells with 9:49 left in the first half that gave the Bears a 14-0 advantage.

But the high-scoring EWU offense found its rhythm after that, closing out the half with 21 consecutive points. The first came after a UCA special teams miscue. Junior Dwayne Smith, subbing as kickoff return specialist due to Jatavious Wilson’s injury, fumbled the EWU kickoff and the Eagles took over at the UCA 22. Three plays later, EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud hit All-American Cooper Kupp from 19 yards out for the score to tie it at 14-14 with 3:48 to play.

UCA’s offense stalled again and the Bears punted back to EWU. The Bears held the Eagles and forced a fourth down at the 31 but EWU called a time out and then executed a fake field goal, with Reilly Hennessey throwing in the left flat to Zach Wimberly for eight yards and a key first down. That led to a 6-yard TD pass from Gubrud to Kupp with just 14 seconds remaining for a 21-14 EWU lead.

“The game changed there late in the second quarter,’ said Campbell. “It was 14-0 and them boom, boom, boom it was 21-14 and we didn’t do much offensively after that. But they had been there before, they’ve been down before. They cranked it up a notch and we weren’t able to score any more points after that and help our defense out. A couple of mistakes and they capitalized on every one of them. Great football teams do that.’

For the half, the Eagles finished with 289 yards of total offense on 52 plays, including 283 through the air. Gubrud was 27 of 35 for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Kupp catching 10 for 95 yards. UCA had 169 yards on 31 plays in the opening half and finished with just 244 total.

In the second half, UCA punted on four straight possessions and then turned the ball over on downs before a late inteceptionin the final seconds of the game.

“I don’t understand it,’ Campbell said. “and I’m sure they wish they knew why people can run the football on them early and then they rev it up a couple of notches and seem to be able to tighten the hatches as the game wore on. And they did that. And we had some opportunities, we just need to take advantage of them.’

The Eagles added a 20-yard field goal by Roldan Alcobendas in the final minute of the third quarter, then got a late touchdown on a Shag Hill 2-yard run with 1:18 to play.

The Bears won 10 games for just the sixth time in school history and came up one victory short of tying the school record of 11. It was UCA’s third trip to the FCS Playoffs and first since 2012.

“Very proud of how far these guys have come,’ Campbell said. “Very, very proud of them and what they were able to accomplish. It still stings because this was one that I feel like we let get away. They’re a great football team, but everyone that is left is a great. We wanted to win for ourselves and our families and our university.

“But this is a great football team so let’s give them credit, they beat us today. But we can compete with these guys, and we had our opportunites to win this game today. Very proud of how the kids fought all year. I thought they continued to fight hard today.’

Hildebrand, a junior from Bossier City, La., completed 15 of 27 passes for 115 yards, while Wells, a senior from Moss Point, Miss., rushed for a game-high 89 yards in his final game. Hildebrand topped the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season, the first UCA quarterback since Wynrick Smothers in 2012. Senior wide receiver Desmond Smith from Bentonville padded his school records for career yards and career receptions, catching three passes for 24 yards in his finale.

Senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson also added to his school record for all-purpose yards, despite a hamstring injury suffered last week in the first-round win over Illinois State. Senior linebacker Garrett Sharp topped the UCA defensive chart with a career-high 17 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Junior linebacker Chris Chambers added 8 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss as UCA recorded 11 lost-yardage plays for minus 63 yards.

EWU advances to face either North Dakota or Richmond in next Saturday’s quarterfinals.

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Bears rally and advance with playoff win over Redbirds

ASN — Sun, 27 Nov 2016 02:34:05 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

CONWAY – It took a 24-point fourth quarter for the University of Central Arkansas Bears to rally past the Illinois State Redbirds and extend their season on Saturday afternoon.

Overcoming an even slower than usual start, the No. 14/16 Bears grabbed the momentum with a blocked punt by George Odum and the return for touchdown by Jakari Dillard and dominated the Redbirds 24-7 in the final 15 minutes in the first round of the NCAA Division I Championship playoffs at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

UCA (10-2) now advances to the second round to face overall No. 2 seed and FCS power Eastern Washington on Saturday in Cheney, Wash.

“Very proud of the resiliency of our football team,’ said UCA head coach Steve Campbell. “I thought we played extremely hard. And I thought today we had a couple of opportunities to turn and go the other way. But you know what, they kept battling and kept battling and just kept fighting. From this point on, each week is going to be a battle. And it’s about resilience. And these guys really, really played hard. I’m really proud of the way they fought and picked each other up. They beat a good football team today, after we dug ourselves into a little bit of a hole.’

“At this time of year, it gets down to special people. It gets down to players not plays. We can talk about that play, but it gets down to players. It gets down to George Odum, it gets down to Antwon Wells, Desmond Smith, Hayden Hildebrand. It gets down to play-ERS, the heart of the players. Terrence Partee,Cardell (Best), (Jordan) Toliver rushing the quarterback and getting the sack there late. Those guys leaving their hearts out there and playing for one another.

“All the credit goes to the players making plays.”

Campbell said the difference in the fourth quarter may have been a simple realization that a highly successful season could be ending Saturday.

“I think the guys saw we had 15 minutes left in the season,’ he said. “It’s now or never. It’s do or die time. I think the guys took that mantra “finish.” I think offense, defense and special teams really picked it up in the fourth quarter.’

UCA’s defense, which had allowed 240 yards and 17 points through three quarters, turned defensive in the final 15 minutes, holding the Redbirds to 94 yards and just 7 points. Meanwhile, the offense found its rhythm as well, rolling up eight first downs (6 at halftime), 167 yards and scoring on four of its five possessions in the period, the other ending the game as UCA ran out the clock.

Trailing 17-7 with only 86 yards of total offense at halftime, the Bears awoke in the second half, specifically the fourth quarter. Junior rover George Odum broke through and blocked ISU’s punt inside the 10-yard line and Dillard scooped it up and went four yards for the TD to draw the Bears within 17-14 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

A quick three-and-out series for the Redbirds gave the Bears the ball back and junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand orchestrated an 8-play, 83-yard touchdown drive, ending in a 2-yard pass to wide receiver Desmond Smith. The senior from Bentonville broke the school record for career receiving yards Saturday, passing Aaron Fairooz (2003-06), and now has 2,804 yards for his career. Smith broke the school record for career receptions last week and now stands at 223 catches.

That touchdown gave UCA its first lead, and an unsportsmanlike penalty on ISU assessed on the kickoff allowed the Bears to try an onside kick. Conway sophomore Matt Cummins executed the kick and linebacker Roy Sutton recovered for the Bears at the ISU 36. Cummins made a 28-yard field goal with 8:04 to play to push the UCA lead to 24-17.

The Redbirds (6-6), who played in the FCS national championship game in 2014, came back with a quick four-play, 81-yard drive, tying it at 24-24 with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Jake Kolbe to Anthony Warrum with 6:22 to play. After the teams traded punts, UCA got the game-winning scoring drive, courtesy of senior running back Antwon Wells. He caught a first-down pass from Hildebrand and went 39 yards down the right sideline, then went around right end for four yards and the touchdown on the next play for a 31-24 lead with 1:28 on the clock.

The Redbirds lost three yards on four plays, including a six-yard sack by UCA senior Terrence Partee, on their ensuing possession. An incomplete pass on 4th and 13 sealed the victory and moved the Bears to the second round for the third time in as many trips to the FCS playoffs. It also gave UCA 10 victories over Division I teams for the first time since moving up in 2006.

“Very proud of the play of the defense. The defense kept us in it,’ said Campbell. “We got some stops, some crucial deals where we held them to a field goal, created some turnovers. I thought our special teams played really well. We blocked a punt and scooped and scored, and that was a big turning point in the game.

“And offensively, I really thought we stepped up in the second half. I was proud of the way we responded in the second half. We were able to throw and catch and make some plays. We had a lot of people making plays.’

The Bears’ defense recorded 10 lost-yardage plays, including sacks by Partee and two by defensive end Chris Chambers. UCA forced two fumbles, with linebacker Garrett Sharp and safety Juan Jackson recovering. Hildebrand completed 18 of 36 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns, while Smith caught six passes for 61 yards and two scores, a 1-yarder that was the only score for the Bears in the first three quarters. Senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson left the game with a leg injury in the second half after catching 2 passes for 75 yards and returning 3 kickoffs for 69 yards.

The Bears punted seven times in the first three quarters but just once after that. The Redbirds were nearly the opposite, finishing the game with five punts in their last seven possessions, with the final one ending on downs. UCA ended up with 338 yards of total offense, averaging 4.6 yards per play.

“I thought (offensive coordinator) Coach (Nathan) Brown did a great job calling the game,’ said Campbell. “Once we figured out it was going to be hard sledding running the football, I thought Nathan did a great job of calling the pass plays to give us a chance to get open. When you play a great team, chances are you are going to start slow. You’re not going to light it up _ you’d love to _ but it’s going to be tough.’

UCA, making its first playoff appearance since 2012, got 10 of its 14 first downs through the air. The UCA defense, No. 1 in the nation against the run, allowed just 126 rushing yards, and just 52 in the second half. Kolbe completed 14 of 29 for 208 yards and two touchdowns for the Redbirds.

The Bears will face the 10-1 Eagles, who have been off since a 35-28 win over Portland State on Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. (CT) on Saturday.

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Fourth quarter picks carry Bears past Colonels

ASN — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 22:19:21 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

CONWAY – Three timely fourth-quarter interceptions carried the 13th-ranked University of Central Arkansas Bears to a hard-fought 31-24 victory over the scrappy Nicholls Colonels on Senior Day at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The victory moved the Bears to 9-1 overall and a perfect 8-0 record in the Southland Conference, tied with No. 1-ranked Sam Houston State. The battle for the SLC title between the Bears and Bearkats is set for next Saturday in Huntsville, Texas, in the regular-season finale.

UCA senior cornerback Tyler Williams picked off two passes and junior free safety Jaylon Lofton added a third interception as the Colonels’ offense managed only a 46-yard field goal by David McKey in the fourth period. Nicholls had taken a 21-17 lead with 11:42 to play on an 80-yard touchdown pass from freshman Chase Fourcade to senior C.J. Bates.

But from there, UCA’s defense took over, with interceptions on three of Nicholls’ final four possessions as the Bears stretched their winning streak to eight games.

The first half was a game of special teams miscues for both teams. UCA missed a 39-yard field goal and dropped a wide-open touchdown pass on a perfectly executed fake field goal attempt. The Colonels missed a pair of field goals and lost a fumble in their own end of the field in the opening half. The Bears grabbed a 10-7 halftime lead on the strength of a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Matt Cummins and a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Antwon Wells following the Nicholls fumble.

The Colonels (5-5, 5-3) scored on a 45-yard pass from Fourcade to Bates, who finished with nine receptions for 187 yards. Nicholls took its second lead of the night early in the third quarter on Kyran Irvin’s 1-yard run to make it 14-10. The Bears answered with a drive consisting mostly of freshman running back Carlos Blackman. He caught passes of 46 and 9 yards, then ran in from the 1 for the touchdown to give the Bears a 17-14 lead.

The Colonels, who had won two straight games and four of the past five coming into the game, scored in just one play, the 80-yard pass to Bates. Blackman followed with a 15-yard scoring run to give the Bears the lead for good at 24-21 with 11:16 to play. Lofton, a junior from Forest, Miss., picked off a Fourcade pass after the Colonels had driven to the UCA 16 and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown, and a 31-21 UCA advantage.

Nicholls got the ball back twice after its field goal but Williams ended both drives with an interception, the first on the Colonel’s first play from scrimmage at the 30. The second came on fourth and 29 at the UCA 36 after the Colonels were called for offensive pass interference on what looked to be a 38-yard touchdown pass to Lofton, setting up a fourth and 29.

Nicholls outgained the Bears 471 yards to 382 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per play. UCA’s rush defense, leading the nation at 60.8 yards allowed per game, gave up 131 to the Colonels. UCA did record seven plays for lost yardage, including 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack by senior tackle Jordan Toliver. Williams had five pass breakups to go with his two interceptions. Junior rover George Odum forced a fumble and senior safety Brandon Porter recovered for the Bears.

A week after turning the ball over six times in a 34-14 win at Stephen F. Austin, the Bears easily won the turnover battle 4-1 on Saturday. Penalties, however, haunted the Bears again with 11 flags for 135 yards. Hildebrand, a junior from Bossier City, La., completed 20 of 34 passes for 257 yards but no touchdowns. Blackman led the ground game with 53 yards rushing on eight carries and also caught two passes for 55 yards.

UCA punter Patrick Ponder kicked six times for a 47.7-yard average and pinned the Colonels at their own 5 with a 60-yarder early in the third quarter.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Allen Pittman topped the Colonels with 19 tackles (10 solos), including 2.0 for loss and a fumble recovery.

UCA and No. 1 Sam Houston meet at 2:30 next Saturday at Bowers Stadium to decide the SLC championship on ESPN3. The last SLC title for the Bears came in 2012 when they tied SHSU with 6-1 records but won the head-to-head matchup 24-20 in Conway early in the season.

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Bears down Lumberjacks, improve to 8-1

ASN — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 12:40:56 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas _ The 17th-ranked University of Central Arkansas Bears survived six turnovers and 12 penalties to beat the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 34-14 in Southland Conference action on Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.

The Bears, who improved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the SLC, had five turnovers in the second half but had staked themselves to a 24-14 lead at that point. UCA turned the ball over on its first offensive play of the game, a fumble at its own 9. UCA also threw a pair of interceptions in the end zone and lost another fumble at the SFA 2.

“It wasn’t pretty, and we’ve said that before,’ said UCA head coach Steve Campbell, who has his Bears in a first-place tie with No. 1 Sam Houston State with two games to play. “But we’ll take it. I don’t know how many turnovers and penalties we had. But then you go on the road and beat a good football team by 20 at their homecoming…

“That’s what I told the guys, we have a chance to be very, very good. But we can’t play like this and be as good as we want to. We didn’t protect the football. We had way too many penalties. We’ve done this twice now this year, once against Samfordand then today.’

Samford handed the Bears their only loss of the season on Sept. 10 in Conway in a game where UCA had three costly turnovers.

The Bears managed to take a 24-14 halftime lead after a sluggish first 30 minutes. Junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand completed 13 of 17 passes for 168 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the half. After SFA took a 7-0 lead following a UCA fumble on its first possession. Quarterback Zach Conque went in from eight yards out for the score after the Lumberjacks took over on the UCA 9.

UCA answered when Hildebrand connected from 30 yards out with senior tight end Cody Dauksch. Matt Cummins’ PAT tied it at 7-7 with 5:42 left in the first quarter. Hildebrand then found a wide open Desmond Smith behind the SFA secondary for a 57-yard scoring pass and a 14-7 lead at the 2:11 mark of the quarter.

Conque found the end zone again for SFA to tie it at 14-14 on the opening play of the second quarter but UCA scored the final 10 points of the half, despite some key penalties and a brief injury to Hildebrand. Freshman running back Carlos Blackman had a 1-yard touchdown run and Cummins added a 31-yard field goal with just 21 seconds left for the 24-14 advantage at the break.

The Bears could not get out of their own way in the second half with five more turnovers and six more penalties. Hildebrand, who was 13 of 17 for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, finished 21 of 33 for 312 yards with two touchdowns and a career-high three interceptions.

UCA took advantage of one of SFA’s three turnovers when senior safety Brandon Porter intercepted Conque’s pass at the 26 and returned it to the 18 early in the fourth quarter. A personal foul penalty on the ‘Jacks moved it to the 9 and on the second play, senior running back Antwon Wells went in from the 1 for the touchdown and a 31-14 lead with 10:20 to play.

Cummins addded a 22-yard field goal with 3:53 left to set the final.

The Bears rolled up 502 yards of total offense and held the Lumberjacks to 321. UCA’s run defense, leading the FCS, allowed just 59 yards on 31 attempts. Junior defensive end Cardell Best recorded 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Garrett Sharp had a team-high 8 tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, along with a forced fumble.

Blackman, a freshman from Gosnell, led the UCA ground game with 83 yards on 18 carries. Smith, a senior from Bentonville, had 9 catches for 116 yards to lead the UCA receiving corps. In the past two matchups against SFA, Smith has 23 catches for 298 yards.

“I’m very, very happy that we won the football game, and I’m proud for our guys,’ Campbell said. “It’s exciting to be 7-0 and all that. But we have to know that we have to finish some of those drives, we can’t turn the football over. Our very first play of the game, we turned it over, and then it was a comedy of errors.

“Again, I don’t want to be negative, we won by 20. But if you want to know what’s going through my mind… But we made some plays, too. Some guys ran extremely hard, we made some plays down the field. The one thing I can say about these guys is they give tremendous, tremendous effort. They play tremendously hard. We didn’t play the smartest, and I know there is going to come a time where we are going to have to play very, very smart and hard. So we got to get there.’

The next opportunity is Saturday at home on “The Stripes” when the Bears host the Nicholls Colonels in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. UCA finishes the regular season on Nov. 19 against Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas.

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Bears move to 5-0 with win over Cardinals

ASN — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 03:27:51 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations

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.

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UCA’s Svensson wins Southern Miss tournament

ASN — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 04:12:01 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East,

HATTIESBURG, Miss. _ University of Central Arkansas sophomore Emma Svensson shot a 1-over 73 on Tuesday and took home medalist honors at the Southern Miss Golden Eagle Jam at Hattiesburg Country Club.

Svensson, from Halmstad, Sweden, shot rounds of 67-71-73_211 to beat Southern Miss’ Kelly Erasmus by two strokes. Svensson, the reigning Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, led UCA to a third-place finish overall behind Southern Miss and Murray State. Svensson also tied her own school record with the first-round 67 on Monday.

Southern Miss had an 880 total, followed by Murray State (881), UCA (292-293-304_889), Louisiana-Monroe (907), West Florida (912), UAB (931), Tennessee Tech (934), McNeese State (937) and Lipscomb (961).

Behind Svensson, senior Brenda Gonzalez tied for third with rounds of 71-76-71 for a 2-over 218. Junior Fernanda Lira tied for 19th (78-75-77_230), while sophomore Cindy Oh tied for 23rd (78-71-83_232) and freshman YeJi Lim finished 46th (76-81-84_241). Senior Morgan Best, playing as an individual, shot 81-76-77_234) and tied for 27th place.

UCA competes next at the Little Rock Women’s Golf Classic at Hot Springs Village on Nov. 1-2.

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Bears finish off 28-23 win over Red Wolves

ASN — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 04:27:28 +0000

From UCA Sports
Steve East, Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations

JONESBORO – The University of Central Arkansas Bears finished the job this time, knocking off the Arkansas State Red Wolves 28-23 on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 28,012 at Centennial Bank Stadium.

The Bears, who had come close to beating several Football Bowl Subdivision teams in recent years, outscored the Red Wolves 15-7 in the decisive second half, getting the game-winning touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Hayden Hildebrand to ASU transfer Brandon Cox with 6:26 remaining. UCA (3-1, 2-0) then turned to its defense to stop ASU twice in the final five minutes to seal just the program’s second victory over an FBS school since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2006.

“I told them it was going to be tough,’ said a happy UCA head coach Steve Campbell on the field after the game. “Games like this are going to be tough, and you just have to keep battling and perservering. You know, bad things happen but you just keep battling and battling. And they did, and I’m so proud of them.

“And I’ve been very proud of them before when we’ve come up short. But this time we didn’t come up short. We played our butts off against Oklahoma State (last year). We played our butts off against Texas Tech (two years ago). And we played out butts off tonight. And it’s great to be proud of a team for fighting their butts off and then getting rewarded for it by winning the football game.’

UCA’s defense, ranked No. 4 in FCS against the run, allowed the Red Wolves (0-4) just 45 rushing yards on 34 attempts, intercepted two passes and recovered a pair of fumbles. One of the interceptions was by senior Tyler Williams on the UCA 9 with 4:40 remaining. The Red Wolves finished with 424 total yards of offense but managed just one score over the final three quarters. Three of ASU’s final four possessions ended in turnovers.

“Defense has played great all year,’ Campbell said. “They got us on a couple of plays, and that’s been our case. But I like our defense. When they don’t get you on a play, on a great scheme, something really, really schemed up, our guys are in good position and pretty good shape. And they did a great job of scheming and they got us on a couple of things. But I’m very, very proud of the way our defense played.’

After UCA punted back to ASU leading 28-23 with :38 remaining, the Red Wolves completed two passes down to the UCA 35. After an incomplete pass from Justice Hansen to Cameron Echols-Luper, he went to the end zone on second and 10 to Christian Booker but junior cornerback Tremon Smith positioned himself perfectly in front of him and knocked it down to end the game.

ASU took a 3-0 lead with a 33-yard field goal with 12:15 left in the first quarter. UCA answered less than four minutes later with a 47-yard punt return by Smith that gave UCA a 7-3 lead at the 8:42 mark of the period. Hansen then took the Red Wolves 48 yards in three plays, hitting Kendall Sanders with a 5-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead at 9-7 at the 8:02 mark. Hansen then connected with Warren Wand for 48 yards and another touchdown with 3:21 left in the quarter, giving ASU a 16-7 lead.

UCA got a pair of field goals from sophomore Matt Cummins in the final 1:44 of the second quarter to close the gap to 16-13 at the half. Cummins would add his third field goal, from 25 yards out, with 6:06 left in the third quarter to tie it at 16-16. ASU got a 58-yard scoring pass from Hansen to Echols-Luper less than a minute later to make it 23-16.

The Bears scored on a 3-yard run from senior Antwon Wells with 13:12 left in the game but Cummins’ PAT missed, leaving UCA with a one-point deficit. Hildebrand tossed the go-ahead touchdown to Cox, who transferred from ASU to UCA two years ago. The Bears finished with 382 yards of total offense, with Hildebrand overcoming a slow first half to complete 18 of 36 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. Wells led the Bears’ ground attack with 47 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season.

Senior wide receiver Jatavious Wilson caught 7 passes for 130 yards. Hildebrand also had a pair of quick kick punts for an average of 47 yards for the Bears, who lost 53-24 to the Red Wolves in the last meeting in 2011.

“They did it when they had to,’ Campbell said, “against a team that has won, what, four or five Sun Belt titles in a row and been to bowl games four or five years in a row. They found a way to get it done and I’m very, very proud of those guys.’

Junior linebacker James Graves led the Bears with 12 tackles, while junior rover George Odum had 11, including three tackles for loss, and forced a pair of fumbles. Redshirt freshman Chris Terrell forced and recovered a fumble and Smith grabbed UCA’s other interception.

First-place UCA returns to Southland Conference play next Saturday on the road at Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas.

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A-State volleyball wins home opener over UCA

ASN — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 03:54:33 +0000

From A-State Sports
Dennen Cuthbertson, Assistant Director Athletic Media Relations

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State volleyball team swept Central Arkansas 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) in its home opener Thursday night to open the 2016 A-State Invitational at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.

Kenzie Fields led the Red Wolves (5-3) with 13 kills and had 10 digs to register her second double-double of the season. Anna Murphy tallied 12 kills on a .364 attacking percentage, while Brentlee Weaver had nine on a .318 hitting percentage. Mallory Warrington handed out 39 assists, while Lindsay Cline (12) and Markie Schaedig (11) each had double-digit digs. Nicole Knight, Cline, and Fields had two service aces apiece.

“We’re not in a great place yet as a team,” A-State head volleyball coach David Rehr said. “We’re still working through some lineups and other changes, but today was one great step in the right direction. There’s nothing like playing at home in the Convocation Center. The crowd was with us, the band was amazing, so playing these next three at home is crucial for us.”

A-State raced out to a 10-6 lead on Central Arkansas (3-5) after a Weaver kill in set one and led 16-12 after a Carlisa May kill to force a UCA timeout. The Sugar Bears also called another timeout down 24-19 and the Red Wolves won the next point on a Murphy kill for a 25-19 set win.

UCA began the second set strongly with a 9-4 run, capped by a block, to force an A-State timeout. However, the Red Wolves battled to within 16-15 on a Fields’ kill to force a Sugar Bears’ timeout. Central Arkansas led 22-20 after a kill, but the Red Wolves ended the set on a 5-1 run to win the set 25-23 for a 2-0 edge.

The third set began evenly with the score tied 9-9, but a 5-0 Arkansas State run put the score at 14-9. The Sugar Bears never really threatened the rest of the set as the Red Wolves closed out a 25-17 set win and 3-0 match victory with a kill from Shelby Holmes.

“It’s good being back home,” Fields said. “I thought I played smart and didn’t overthink. I just enjoyed it, the atmosphere, and my teammates.”

Arkansas State returns to action Friday night in its second game of the A-State Invitational with a matchup against UT Martin. First serve from the Convocation Center is set for 6 p.m. for that matchup. UT Martin plays Tulsa at 10:30 a.m. to open Friday’s action, while Central Arkansas and Tulsa play at 3:30 p.m. prior to A-State’s home matchup.

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