CONWAY — Hayden Koval is not wrong.
“We’re kind of rolling right now,” the University of Central Arkansas sophomore center said Wednesday after UCA defeated the University of New Orleans 76-71 to earn a fourth consecutive victory.
The Bears (10-10, 5-2 Southland Conference) have not lost a game since Sam Houston State beat UCA 78-69 on Jan. 9 at the Farris Center.
Since losing to Sam Houston State, the Southland’s first-place club at 6-0, the Bears have rattled off victories against Lamar, Incarnate Word, Nicholls State and New Orleans.
The reason for UCA’s surge into a second-place tie with Abilene Christian (16-4, 5-2) is not flashy.
“We’ve just bought in on the defensive end,” Koval said. “We’ve held people around 30, 40 percent shooting. That’s really big for us.”
Out of the four victories, only Incarnate Word (42.3 percent) shot better than 40 percent from the field against the Bears. Lamar
(37.9 percent), Nicholls (37.1 percent) and New Orleans
(36.5 percent) all struggled. None of the four teams scored more than 71 points.
“We’re growing up,” UCA Coach Russ Pennell said. “We’re seeing the value of hard work and effort every play. The focus has been really good, getting prepared and practice carrying over into games. I just think you’ve got a bunch of young guys, but when they get together and play hard, good things happen to them. That’s probably the biggest thing.
“From a tactical standpoint, our defense has been really good. We’ve become a really good defensive team.”
The Bears will meet Abilene Christian at 3:30 p.m. today at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas. Abilene Christian fell into a tie with UCA after a 61-60 road loss Wednesday at Stephen F. Austin.
UAPB WOMEN
New man in charge
Nate Kilbert’s firing was abrupt and a surprise.
Danny Evans was promoted as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s interim head women’s basketball coach Jan. 15, the same day the school announced Kilbert was fired as head coach in the middle of his seventh season at UAPB.
“Oh yeah, it was totally a shock,” Evans said. “Obviously we had talked about wins and losses and how they affect everybody. But they were not prepared for anything of this magnitude at all. They were caught off guard, I would say.”
UAPB, which was 3-7 overall and 0-3 against the Southwestern Athletic Conference when Kilbert was fired, has played two games since the sudden coaching change.
Southern University pounded the Golden Lions 73-41 in Evans’ first game as interim coach last Saturday. Two days later, UAPB (4-8, 1-4) earned its first conference success in a 59-57 victory against Alcorn State.
As Evans perceived it, the rout at Southern galvanized UAPB’s team after the firing.
“I just think they came with a different type of intensity,” Evans said. “They felt that is was like, ‘OK, the coach is gone.’ I reiterated to them that obviously we can’t bring him back. All we can do is play.”
UAPB will host Texas Southern for a doubleheader today. UAPB’s women will begin at 5 p.m., and the men will follow at 7:30 p.m. at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
ASU MEN
Cockfield rolling
Arkansas State University senior guard Ty Cockfield scored 32 points in the Red Wolves’ 82-81 overtime victory Thursday against Appalachian State. Cockfield ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt in scoring at 21.5 points per game.
Cockfield is averaging 22.9 ppg against Sun Belt opponents, an eight-point bump from an average of 14.9 ppg against the conference last season.
Cockfield’s career average of 17.4 points ranks eighth in program history.
The Red Wolves (9-11, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) will host Coastal Carolina at 4 p.m. today at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.
UAPB MEN
Lions in title chase
UAPB’s men are in the thick of the SWAC’s regular-season championship race.
The Golden Lions (6-12, 3-2 SWAC) are in a tie for third place with Texas Southern (8-10, 3-2). Prairie View A&M is first at 5-0. Alabama State is second at 4-1.
“We like where we’re at,” UAPB Coach George Ivory. “We’d love to be undefeated in a perfect world.”
After today’s game against Texas Southern, the Golden Lions will host top team Prairie View A&M on Monday in Pine Bluff.
“We’re trying to stay in the race for the regular-season championship,” Ivory said. “This is a very big game for us. Very big.”
Senior guard Martaveous McKnight is the driving force behind UAPB’s solid year. McKnight is averaging 23.7 points per game, the 11th-highest total in the country.