FAYETTEVILLE — Having beaten Oral Roberts earlier this season, the Central Arkansas basketball team came into Wednesday looking to add a victory over another team that made a successful run in last season's NCAA Tournament.
While the visiting Bears (1-7) put up a fight in the first 20 minutes and trailed by just six at halftime, Arkansas (7-0) exploded in the second half and cruised to a 97-60 decision at Bud Walton Arena.
UCA coach Anthony Boone thinks it was a matter of a different mindset.
“I think our guys got a little satisfied with having a great half against a great team," Boone said.
The Bears featured familiar faces in former Razorback Darious Hall, former Fayetteville star Collin Cooper, former Bryant guard Camren Hunter and SK Shittu, who played his high school ball at Providence High School in Rogers.
Cooper led the way for UCA with 13 points before fouling out. Hall, who transferred to DePaul after his freshman season at Arkansas, had 12 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the field.
“Man, to be honest, when I came in and saw all the fans my emotions just reminded me how it was my freshman year,” Hall said. “I just stayed calm and came in and played the game.”
Boone knew Hall would be amped for his return to Bud Walton Arena.
“Once he got over the initial nervousness of being here — and I understand, I grew up in Arkansas watching the Razorbacks,” said Boone, who played at Ole Miss. “The first (time) I played against them I was nervous. Once he got through that he was pretty solid and he was just as physical as those guys, and was a great presence on the floor for us.”
Hall, in his first year at UCA with two years of eligibility left, has been battling back issues.
“I’ve got like a back spasm, but I have been trying to play through it,” Hall said. “Mostly, I have got to keep fighting, but it is tough right now. I really can’t move and bend and stuff like I normally would and I can’t play up to my full potential like I wanted to. I am talking about rebounding, playing hard and diving on the floor, but I am still giving it a try.”
Boone took Hall out later in the game after the outcome had been decided in hopes he will be healthier when UCA plays at Arkansas State on Saturday.
“Once the game got out of hand, that’s what I told him,” Boone said. “I said, 'I’m not putting you back in.'"
While none of his old Razorback teammates or coaches are still around, Hall was happy to get a chance to play against several Arkansans that he played against in high school and during the summer.
“It was good, the energy was high and they were all smiling,” Hall said. “We kind of go way back. Like KK (Robinson), I used to work out with KK. We had a lot of workouts together. But they have a lot of new guys, too. Over the summer I got to play against some of them when we had open runs. It was just good to play against them in a real game.”
Hall was impressed with his former program.
“They are 10th right now and I think they can end up being better than that,” Hall said. “I feel like they can have a great team and they kind of favor the old Razorbacks because they have some hard-nosed players, they play hard and they play as a team.”
Cooper stole the opening tip, but missed a layup. He settled down and was 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from three-point range.
“It is different experience coming to all these games as a kid, seeing this and wanting to play out here and then I finally got to do it,” Cooper said. “It was real fun. I had a couple of mishaps because I had some excitement coming in, but I was ready to go.”
Cooper had been looking forward to the game since it was first scheduled.
“It’s my hometown so I have been thinking about this game since I saw it on the schedule,” Cooper said. “I was just ready for it.”
Boone knew Cooper would be excited when he took the Bud Walton Arena court.
“Certainly,” Boone said. “ It doesn’t take much for Collin to get excited. He sees to get that way when he gets out of bed. But he was excited about this game and I’m glad he came out and played well.”
He was thrilled with how hard and well his team played before intermission.
“For the first half, we competed with a top-10 team in the nation so it shows what we have got the potential to do,” Cooper said. “We just have to stretch that over for 40 minutes instead of 20.”
Arkansas had a 47-31 rebound advantage and forced 25 UCA turnovers.
“Their size certainly was a factor, especially on the glass,” Boone said. “That was where it was a big factor. There were times we boxed out pretty good. A couple of times we just lost our assignment We couldn’t simulate that size in practice. We tried but we don’t have anybody 7-4."
UCA, which shot just 18.2% from the floor after halftime and 40% overall, stayed in the game in the first half while knocking seven three-pointers.
Cooper is hopeful UCA will be tested by its nonconference slate and be able to compete in its American Sun conference.
“We just want to continue to grow each and every time we step on the court for practice or games,” Cooper said. “We want to get to where we can eventually win an A-Sun championship and punch a ticket to the (NCAA) Tournament.”
