The margins were tight Monday night as the University of Central Arkansas men's basketball team fell 84-79 to Florida Gulf Coast in overtime at the Farris Center in Conway.
Each team went 1-for-7 from the field in the extra period, but FGCU's (12-3, 2-0 ASUN) 7-of-8 at the free-throw line was the difference.
With 9:12 left in the second half, UCA (5-10, 0-2) and FGCU were tied 59-59 after Andre Weir made a pair of free throws.
After that, FGCU went on a 10-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Weir to make it 69-59.
But with its back against the wall, UCA went on a run of its own. The Bears scored the next 11 points on shots from five different players to take a 70-69 lead with 2:18 remaining.
Weir retook the lead with a pair of free throws on the next possession. But VJ Reeves's three-pointer and free throws from Johannes Kirsipuu made it 75-71 in favor of UCA.
That lead stood until the last 13 seconds of regulation. FGCU's Caleb Catto hit a three-point shot through the contact from Johan Crafoord and made the subsequent free throw to send the game to overtime tied 75-75.
"Our guys played hard, and this was probably our best effort of any game this season," UCA Coach Anthony Boone said. "There were just a couple of mistakes here and there that could have sealed the win for us in regulation."
Weir's height at 6-10 presented a mismatch for most of the game against UCA's 6-7 Eddy Kayouloud. He used that to his advantage to lead the Eagles with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Along with Weir, Isaiah Thompson (19), Catto (11) and Chase Johnston (11) each reached double figures.
Reeves stepped up with a career-high 24 points to lead the Bears. Crafoord scored 11 points to join starters Camren Hunter (15), Masasi Olowokere (10) and Ibbe Klintman (10) in double figures.
SWAC MEN
ALABAMA A&M 66, UAPB 59
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Alabama A&M closed the game on a 10-3 run to erase a deficit and beat the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff for the sixth consecutive time.
Garrett Hicks had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-9, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), which trailed 57-56 with 4:32 left in the game following a free throw from UAPB's Brahm Harris. Hicks later responded with a dunk with 3:31 remaining to start Alabama A&M's final surge.
Messiah Thompson had 14 points for Alabama A&M, while Olisa Blaise Akonobi ended with 13. Lorenzo Downey contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Harris had a team-high 12 points for the Golden Lions (4-10, 0-1), who hit 18 of 61 (29.5%) shots but led for the majority of the game. UAPB's largest lead came with 13:26 left in the second half when it led 48-39. Kylen Milton followed with 11 points and eight rebounds, and Ismael Plet collected 10 points and pulled down eight rebounds.