9 months ago
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Junior guard Chris Poellnitz scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures for the Bears (3-5), who beat Cal State Fullerton on Friday to break a five-game losing streak. Junior forward Tadre Sheppard scored 18 points, while senior forward Mitch Rueter had 12 and junior guard Jared Rehmel added 11. It was second time this season UCA had four players with at least 10 points. UCA shot a blistering 65 percent from the field in the second half (15 of ?23) and 55.3 percent for the game. The Bears came into the game shooting 38 percent for the year.
"I thought it was a good win for us,' said UCA head coach Rand Chappell. "We got off to somewhat of a slow start but we dug in as the first half went on. We shot 65 percent in the second half and 55 percent for the game so I guess we won it with some pretty good offense. "I told our guys at halftime, we're five up and that feels pretty good because we know we can play a little bit better than we had. Our guys kept working and we played better as the game went on.' The Bears held a 30-25 halftime lead on the strength of 10 points frrom Poellnitz. He then opened the second half scoring four of UCA's first six points, all on fastbreak layups, to give the Bears a 36-29 lead at the 17:45 mark. The Jaguars came back and cut the margin to just one point at 37-36 before UCA's Jared Rehmel nailed a long three-pointer from the top for a 40-36 lead.
That was the first of three consecutive three-pointers for UCA, as Imad Qahwash made his first of the year and Rehmel connected again to give the Bears a 10-point cushion at 46-36 with 12:30 left to play. Earnest Jones then made the Jaguars' first two free throws of the game at the 12:05 mark. Southern senior guard Jazz Williams then reeled off seven straight points, including three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Norm Nixon Jr., stole UCA's inbounds pass and converted the layup to close the gap to 54-51 with 8:25 to play.
Sheppard scored inside for UCA, Poellnitz made one free throw and Mitch Rueter scored inside to push the lead back to 59-51. A 14-2 run closed it out for the Bears. Junior guard Imad Qahwash made a pair at the line to give the Bears their biggest lead to that point of the game at 70-55 with 2:45 left. Sheppard finished it off with a thundering dunk and a three-point play in the final minute to finish with a career-high 18 points. He made 8 of 12 from the line and added a team-high 8 rebounds.
"That's what you like to see, lots of different guys contributing,' said Chappell. "Obviously Tadre was very active. Jared Rehmel scored 11 and it seemed like he made a lot more shots this weekend, which is huge. And Chris, in some ways I think, had an average game, but you look and he got 21 points. "I thought it was just a good team win and something we can build on.'
The Jaguars (0-8) got 17 points from Tony McGilveary, 15 from Jones and 12 more from Williams. Southern shot 40 percent for the game and went to the free-throw line only nine times, making eight. UCA was 20 of 32 from the line.
The Bears take a break for final exams before facing Tennessee Martin on Saturday in Martin, Tenn. Tipoff is 6 p.m. in Martin, Tenn.
