Bolivar, Mo. – The Bearcats played a tough game against the University of Central Missouri's Mules and picked up the victory, 76-70. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 10-14 (5-13 MIAA) on the season.
After a layup by UCM to start the game off, SBU went on a 6-0 run with shots from Logan Hovey and Kalehl Brown to take an early 6-2 lead. A couple shots by UCM pulled them within a single point but a layup by Hovey kept the Bearcat lead 10-7 with 16:37 left. UCM hit their next 2 shots to put them in the lead 11-10 but SBU fought back and regained the lead off shots from Brian Patterson and Hovey (15-11). After a UCM jumper landed to tie the game, Cartier Dean dished it off to Nate Nahirny who hit a 3-pointer to put the Bearcats up 18-15 with 9:46 left on the clock. UCM regained the lead, but another assist by Dean to Kai Woodfall would put the Bearcats back on top by 1 (21-20). SBU's Marley Biyendolo's 3-pointer would extend the Bearcat lead by 4 before UCM hit a 3-pointer of their own to cut the SBU lead back down to a single point (24-23) with 3:37 left in the half. Andy Campbell's pass found Theo Oghide in the paint, who scored on a layup, to bring the score to 26-23 SBU with 3:14 on the clock. Despite 2 free throws by UCM late in the half, shots by Hovey and Campbell would send the Bearcats into the break up 29-25.
SBU's Woodfall started off the 2nd half with a 3-pointer to extend the Bearcat lead to 32-25 but UCM scored on a layup quickly after. UCM went on a small 4-0 run to pull within 1 before Patterson was able to get in the paint and score on a layup. The scoring went quickly between both teams with SBU maintaining a slim lead over the Mules. A 3-pointer by UCM would give the Mules their first lead in the second half 41-39 but a solo 4-0 run by Hovey would give the Bearcats back the lead 43-41 with 12:24 left in the game. A 3-pointer by UCM put them in the lead before Dean picked up another assist by passing it off to Woodfall who hit a 3-pointer to put the Bearcats on top 46-44. Despite quick shots by UCM, shots by Kalehl Brown, Dean, and Woodfall would extend the Bearcat lead 54-48 with 6:35 left in the half. The Mules fought back but free throws by Patterson and Dean kept a 7 point lead (58-51) for SBU. UCM went on a 6-0 run to lead 63-61 but a Hovey layup would tie the game with 3:29 on the clock. A solo 4-0 run by Kalehl Brown extended the SBU lead 67-63. Despite shots from UCM they were forced to foul and the Bearcats would shoot 9 of 10 free throws down the stretch to give them the victory 76-70.
Logan Hovey narrowly missed a double-double with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Kai Woodfall was close behind with 16 points while Cartier Dean contributed 11 points and Kalehl Brown had 10 points. As a team, SBU shot 51.3% from the field, 55.6% from behind the arc, and 83.9% from the free-throw line.
The Bearcats will be back at home Thursday, February 18th as they face off against Missouri Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Meyer Sports Center.
