CONWAY— Thatch Unruh scored 20 points, Jordan Howard added 18, and Central Arkansas opened Southland Conference play with an 81-69 win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Thursday.
The Bears (7-7) never trailed after Howard scored all the points in a 7-0 run for a 24-18 lead. Central Arkansas scored 10 straight in the first half and took a 41-21 lead at the break. The Islanders (4-8) got within five early in the second half, but a 12-3 run had the lead at 61-47 with 11:29 to play, and it stayed in double figures the rest of the way.
Mathieu Kamba added 13 points, and Hayden Koval, a 7-foot freshman, had seven blocked shots for the second time this season for Central Arkansas. Howard also had five assists, five steals and five rebounds.
Joseph Kilgore scored 23 points, and Sean Rhea added 16 for the Islanders.
The Bears are 5-0 at home, and the Islanders 0-7 on the road.