CONWAY, Ark. (Interstat) — Central Arkansas used a dominant second half to pull away from North Alabama for an 81-60 victory in ASUN Conference men’s basketball on Wednesday night at Farris Center. The Bears, who led 40-39 at halftime, outscored the Lions 41-21 after intermission. Central Arkansas shot 48.4% from the field and made 14 3-pointers, capitalizing on 15 points off turnovers and 21 fastbreak points. North Alabama shot 40.7% and was hampered by 13 turnovers. Donte Bacchus led all scorers with 21 points for North Alabama. Luke Moore paced Central Arkansas with 15 points and seven assists. The Bears improved to 13-10, while the Lions fell to 7-14.

CONWAY, Ark. (Interstat) — The Central Arkansas Bears used a dominant second-half surge fueled by defensive pressure and transition offense to pull away from the North Alabama Lions for an 81-60 victory in an ASUN Conference men’s basketball game Wednesday night at the Farris Center. A tightly contested first half gave way to a decisive 21-2 run by the Bears early in the second period, turning a one-point game into a blowout and snapping North Alabama’s two-game winning streak. Central Arkansas improved to 13-10 overall, while North Alabama fell to 7-14. The first half was a back-and-forth affair featuring 10 lead changes. North Alabama, led by Donte Bacchus’s 14 first-half points, found success from beyond the arc, hitting six three-pointers. The Lions held a 39-38 lead after a Kevin de Kovachich three-pointer with just over three minutes remaining. However, Central Arkansas closed the half on a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Tyler Lee layup in the final seconds, to take a 40-39 lead into the break. The game’s defining stretch began shortly after halftime. Leading 45-42, Central Arkansas unleashed its game-changing run. The Bears’ defense, which finished with 10 steals, forced a flurry of North Alabama turnovers and converted them into easy baskets. Luke Moore, who orchestrated the offense with seven assists, hit a three-pointer and a layup during the sequence, while Camren Hunter and Javion Guy-King also contributed fastbreak scores. The Lions went scoreless for over five minutes and committed five turnovers during the pivotal stretch, watching a 42-45 deficit balloon to 44-66 with 12:21 to play. North Alabama never recovered, shooting just 28.6% from the field in the second half and scoring only 21 points. Central Arkansas excelled in key statistical areas that underscored their transition game. The Bears outscored North Alabama 21-7 on fastbreak points and turned 13 Lions turnovers into 15 points. Their ball movement was also superior, tallying 10 assists to North Alabama’s six. Bacchus, a 6-foot-7 forward from Homewood, Alabama, led all scorers with 21 points for North Alabama. De Kovachich, from Montreal, added 15 points. Corneilous Williams contributed nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Central Arkansas showcased a balanced offensive attack. Moore, a 6-foot-2 guard, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, seven assists and a block. Guy-King, a local product from Little Rock, scored 12 points. Cole McCormick came off the bench to provide a significant spark with 14 points, all in the second half, while Harrison Beauchamp of Victoria, Australia, added eight points, three assists and two blocks. Ty Robinson also chipped in 12 points. The Bears shot 48.4% from the field for the game and connected on 14 of 33 three-point attempts. North Alabama finished at 40.7% shooting and was hampered by an 8-for-16 performance at the free-throw line. An announced crowd of 984 at the Farris Center saw Central Arkansas win its third straight conference game and maintain momentum heading into a Saturday road contest at Lipscomb. North Alabama will look to regroup on the road Saturday at Austin Peay. The game’s most important sequence was Central Arkansas’s 21-2 run to start the second half. It transformed a narrow, competitive contest into a lopsided affair by capitalizing on North Alabama’s offensive stagnation and defensive lapses. The Bears’ ability to force turnovers and immediately convert them into points at the other end broke the game open and established an insurmountable lead.

CONWAY, Ark. (Interstat) — A surging Central Arkansas squad will look to continue its climb in the ASUN Conference standings when it hosts a North Alabama team seeking momentum on Wednesday afternoon at the Farris Center. The Bears (12-10) have won four of their last five games, powered by an explosive offense averaging 88.2 points during that stretch. Guard Camren Hunter is the catalyst, coming off a 32-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist performance in a 90-81 win over Eastern Kentucky last Saturday. Hunter has scored 30 or more points in two of his last three outings. Central Arkansas coach Anthony Boone will rely on that firepower against a Lions defense that has allowed 90 or more points in three of its last six games. North Alabama (7-13) snapped a five-game skid with a narrow 68-66 road victory at Stetson on Saturday. The Lions will need another strong performance from guard Donte Bacchus, who led that win with 23 points and seven rebounds. Bacchus has been a consistent scorer, reaching double figures in seven of his last eight contests. However, the Lions’ recent struggles are evident, having lost eight of their last 10. Containing Hunter and improving defensive consistency will be paramount for coach Tony Pujol’s team to secure a rare road win. Central Arkansas won the first meeting this season, 85-72, in Florence on Jan. 3. Hunter scored 24 points in that contest. The matchup features a stark contrast in recent trajectories. The Bears are 7-3 in their last 10 games and firmly in the conference race, while the Lions are fighting to escape the lower tier of the standings. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CST Wednesday in Conway.