Thatch Unruh scored a game-high 21 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, to lead the University of Central Arkansas to a 73-53 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
The Bears scored the game's first five points, but fell behind 13-7 after Jashawn Talton hit a jumper with 14:40 left in the first half. UCA took the lead for good with 11:09 remaining in the first half on a Hayden Koval three-pointer. The lead grew to double digits when Unruh hit two free throws with 1:11 left in the first half to give UCA a 36-25 lead at halftime.
The Islanders cut the lead to six early in the second half when Elijah Schmidt's layup made it 36-30 with 18:17 left. They got as close as 42-38 when Kareem South hit two free throws with 12:31 remaining, but the Bears rebuilt the lead and weren't threatened the rest of the way.
Koval finished with 15 points for Central Arkansas, which advances to face Southeastern Louisiana in a second-round game at 7:30 p.m. today. Matthew Mondesir had 13 points and DeAndre Jones chipped in 11 for the Bears.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sports on 03/14/2019