Bears go on attack in second half, turn away Queens

(Photo:  Central Arkansas Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – In most situations, hunters try to kill bears.

Wednesday night, a Hunter saved the Bears.

Senior guard Camren Hunter finished with 31 points – two off his career-best, set at Queens in 2023 – and knocked down several key shots to pace five Bears in double figures in a 100-90 Central Arkansas victory over Queens at Curry Arena.

“The resiliency – listen, I want our team – the team’s supposed to play with my personality,” Central Arkansas coach John Shulman said after the game. “They don’t. They play with Cam’s personality. A coach-led team is really good. A player-led team is special. We have a player-led team.”

The leadership Shulman referenced was challenged early by foul trouble for the Bears. Freshman guard Ty Robinson was assessed two fouls in the game’s first minute, allowing Queens (12-10, 7-2 ASUN) to bounce back from an early deficit. The Royals trailed, 20-16, halfway through the first half before unfurling an 11-0 run that afforded the home side a seven-point advantage. The lead got as high as nine before Central Arkansas sliced it to three.

After Hunter hit triples on back-to-back trips that cut it to three each time, Queens pushed it back to seven on four straight free throws. Yoav Berman again extended it to seven with a late layup with less than a minute in the first half. Luke Moore converted a layup on the final Central Arkansas possession of the first frame, sending Queens to the locker room ahead, 45-40.

“I thought we played as well defensively as we’ve ever played in the first half,” Shulman said. “We were unbelievable defensively, and they went 10-for-16 from the three-point line. I was like, ‘Guys, they should be up 12, 13, 14 points, and they’re only up five. Hang in there.’”

Queens again swelled its lead to nine on a Berman and-one and Maban Jabriel bucket with 16:02 remaining. Central Arkansas (11-10, 6-2) continued to persist and hang around as it did throughout the first half, using a Cole McCormick and-one and a Harry Beauchamp circling triple to whittle an eight-point Queens margin to a single bucket with 13:24 remaining.

Every punch was met with a counterpunch. Central Arkansas got a bucket – often by Hunter – and Queens responded. The Royals were staggered as the Bears charged out of their corner. Then came the final flurry.

Hunter knocked home a triple at the 10-minute mark to tie the game at 67, eliciting a three-quarters court celebration from Hunter as Shulman called a timeout. After the timeout, McCormick canned a three to again level the game at 70. Hunter then plunged the dagger, dropping another three to put the Bears ahead, 73-70. Queens never again led.

“I tried to harp on our guys to stay positive and stay together,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “I thought their group decided (Hunter’s tying three) was going to energize them, and we were never able to match the intensity that they gave the rest of that game.”

“We got clean shots and we missed them. I thought that our lack of – we allowed our missing shots to affect our energy. We never got that back throughout the game. I think we kept searching for it and never (found it). We can’t allow our lack of ability to make shots to drain our energy.”

The win was Central Arkansas’ fourth in a row and brought the Bears over .500 on the season.

“We’re learning. We’re getting better,” Shulman said. “We’re not going to listen to rat poison and take it all in. Results lie. We haven’t arrived yet. I told them in the locker room I’d let them know when we arrive, and it’s not going to be anytime soon.”

Hunter shared his thoughts on the Bears’ motivation.

“The biggest thing is that you walk right past (Queens’) locker room,” Hunter said. “You can hear everything they’re saying. You can feel their whole mood. They felt like they were arrogant and they were better than us.”

“We spent the whole summer grinding, fighting, and banging against each other. We have a bunch of competitive guys on this team. We’re young, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Leonard acknowledged the Bears’ effort.

“They definitely played hungrier tonight,” Leonard said. “They outrebounded us, they forced more turnovers, and they hit all the big shots in the second half. When you give up 60 points in the second half, you’re probably not going to win very often. It’s our first home loss. We’ve lost two in a row. We’ve got to find our identity.”

Part of the Royals’ missing identity centered around the inability to mount a late comeback. Queens had several chances to get back in the game but could not capitalize.

“We had two or three careless turnovers in transition and those were big plays,” Leonard said. “We didn’t make free throws to come back down the stretch. I know (we were) 15-for-21, and you look at it and think, ‘oh, it wasn’t that bad, (we hit) 72 percent,’ but we didn’t convert when we needed to down the stretch.”

The highlight of the Royals’ night came from the sneakers they wore as part of the Suits and Sneakers program. Patients at the Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte designed the coaches’ sneakers, which Leonard proudly referenced after the game.

“We’re really intentional about building community through basketball,” Leonard said. “Those kids down at the Levine Center – we play in the Levine Center and the Levines do an unbelievable job with donating so much to the city. I wish the weather would have allowed us to design the shoes with the kids. I love that those kids are part of the program and that, win or lose, basketball is a part of the community.”

“Those kids are the biggest fighters we know, fighting through cancer and other health struggles. I’m so glad they can be a part of our program.”

Hunter’s 31 led Central Arkansas and all scorers. The senior hit 12-of-18 shots, including 4-of-6 from three. McCormick and Moore contributed 19 apiece on a combined 10-for-15 from the deck and 15-of-19 from the line. Junior Javion Guy-King added 13, with Robinson tallying 11. The Bears hit 54.5 percent from the field (30-for-55), with 44.4 percent (12-for-27) falling from distance. Central Arkansas hit 82.4 percent (28-for-34) from the line.

Carson Schwieger led the six Royals in double figures, booking 17 on 5-for-12 shooting (5-for-11 from three). Berman and Jabriel tallied 16 apiece, knocking down a combined 11-for-20. Chris Ashby scored 14 on 4-for-10 shooting, with Jordan Watford finishing with 11 on a 4-for-4 shooting effort. Nas Mann finished with 10, hitting 3-of-6 field goal attempts. Queens finished 29-for-58 from the field (50 percent), hitting 44.7 percent (17-for-38) from three. The Royals hit 71.4 percent (15-for-21) from the line.

Central Arkansas returns to the Farris Center in Conway, Ark., for a Saturday game with Eastern Kentucky. Tip time is set for 4:30 (Eastern), with streaming over ESPN+. Queens travels to Freedom Hall in Louisville for a 2:00 start against Bellarmine Saturday. ESPN+ will also stream that contest.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 100, QUEENS 90

CENTRAL ARKANSAS (11-10, 6-2 ASUN)

Hunter 12-18 3-5 31, Guy-King 2-11 8-8 13, Robinson 3-4 2-2 11, Marable 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 4-5 11-14 19, Byrne 0-3 0-0 0, Lee 1-1 0-0 2, Beauchamp 1-2 0-0 3, Applegate 1-1 0-0 2, McCormick 6-10 4-5 19. Totals 30-55 28-34 100.

QUEENS (12-10, 7-2)

Mann 3-6 2-2 10, Parker 2-5 2-3 6, Ashby 4-10 2-2 14, Schwieger 5-12 2-2 17, Berman 5-10 4-6 16, Watford 4-4 3-6 11, Celestin 0-0 0-0 0, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Larson 0-0 0-0 0, Jabriel 6-10 0-0 16. Totals 29-58 15-21 90.

Halftime:  Queens 45-40. 3-Point goals:  Queens 17-38 (Mann 2-3, Ashby 4-10, Schwieger 5-11, Berman 2-7, Jabriel 4-7), Central Arkansas 12-27 (Hunter 4-6, Guy-King 1-8, Robinson 3-3, Moore 0-1, Burne 0-3, Beauchamp 1-2, McCormick 3-4). Parker (QUC).  Rebounds:  Central Arkansas 31 (Guy-King 8), Queens 26 (Mann/Berman 5). Total fouls:  Queens 25, Central Arkansas 20. Technicals:  NA.