Senior guard LaQuentin Miles scored a career-high 34 points and added 12 rebounds for the Bears (8-20, 5-12 Southland Conference) during Thursday night’s basketball game against Northwestern State (15-13, 11-60. It wasn’t enough, though, as Northwestern pulled away in the second half and ended UCA’s two-game winning streak with a 119-102 victory in Natchitoches, La.
This was the second game in a row in which Miles scored a new career-high. He had 30 points in the 76-69 win over Lamar on March 1 and is the reigning SLC player of the week.
Thursday’s high-scoring game saw four different players score in double figures for UCA. Freshman forward Ethan Lee had 16 points and six rebounds, freshman forward Jalen Jackson had 13 points and junior guard Aubrey Ball had 10.
Senior guard DeShone McClure was held to nine points on 4-11 shooting. He came into the game averaging 12.9 points per game.
102 points is the most UCA has scored since beating Hendrix College 109-59 in the opening game of the season on Nov. 12, 2013.
Northwestern’s sophomore guard Jalan West led the Demons with 26 points and five assists. Freshman guard Zikiteran Woodley had 24 points and seven rebounds while senior forward DeQuan Hicks added 12 points.
The Bears took a 52-47 lead into the half, but the Demons got a pair of free throws from senior forward Patrick Robinson to make it 53-52 early in the second half, and that lead was kept for the rest of the game.
Northwestern State shot a better percentage than the Bears in field goals, three-pointers and free throws. The Demons also out-rebounded UCA by two, with a 38-36 advantage.
The Demons had two more steals than the Bears, and each team had four blocks. UCA committed more turnovers with 18 compared to 15 for Northwestern State.
UCA will finish the regular season in Nacogdoches, Texas on Saturday, facing Stephen F. Austin. Game time is 6:30 p.m.on ESPN3.
