Jordan Howard scored 26 points, including 5 three-pointers, and had 6 assists to lead the University of Central Arkansas over California 96-69 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., on Wednesday night.
Mathieu Kamba added a season-high 23 points and had 7 rebounds, while DeAndre Jones had 13 points and 6 assists for the Bears (5-5), who were coming off a 78-76 loss Monday night at the University of San Francisco.
The Bears got a victory over a Pac-12 school after taking UCLA to overtime earlier this season. Tanner Schmit missed the final six minutes of the first half with a bloody nose. He returned to start the second half and made three consecutive shots coming out of the break.
Howard, the school's career-leader for three-pointers, got off to a slow start but made four shots beyond the arc after halftime when he scored 17 points.
The Bears were never threatened after a 22-4 run in the first half on their way to a 45-25 lead at the break. UCA led by as many as 35 points (77-42) with 9:34 left in the second half.
Don Coleman scored 20 points for California (3-6). Marcus Lee added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks.
The game was sloppy on both sides early before Kamba scored seven consecutive points to start a first-half run and Jones made a three-pointer to cap it, putting UCA ahead 29-18.
Jones later made another three-pointer as part of a 10-0 run, then converted a midcourt steal into an easy layup that extended the lead to 45-25 with 26 seconds left before the half.
The Golden Bears made only two buckets over the final 11 minutes of the first half and committed a season-high 22 turnovers in the game -- one more than they had made baskets (21). UCA outscored California 35-9 in points off turnovers.
UCA shot 49.2 percent (31-63) from the field, including 52.2 percent (12-23) on three-pointers, sparked by Howard's 5-of-9 effort.
Kamba was 10 of 10 at the free-throw line as the Bears shot 91.7 percent (22-24) as a team.
Sports on 12/07/2017