Jones nails half-court shot at buzzer, Cent. Ark. Wins 85-82

Dec 8, 2019, 09:20 pm

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- DeAndre Jones drained a 3-pointer from half court as time expired to give Central Arkansas an 85-82 win over Little Rock in the Governor's I-40 Showdown on Saturday.

Jones, who finished with a career-high 26 points, was also a career-best 6 of 10 from long range and dished out seven assists. Jones nailed his fifth and sixth treys in the final three minutes to keep Central Arkansas in the contest as Rayjon Tucker hit a jumper, drove for a layup and nailed a 3 to give Little Rock an 82-77 lead with 1:55 remaining. UCA's Jones hit a 3 and Jared Chatham made a layup to tie with 26 seconds left.

Hayden Koval added 19 points for Central Arkansas (4-5) which beat Little Rock 78-65 earlier this season.

Tucker finished with 27 points, his ninth game in double digits this year. Kris Bankston recorded a career-high 20 points for Little Rock (4-6)

UCA got off to a very slow start, trailing 13-2 in the opening minutes. The Bears charged back to lead 44-35 at the half.

The Trojans took their first lead in the second half 59-56 after Tucker and Markquis Nowell drained back-to-back 3s at the 11:48 mark. Thatch Unruh answered with a trey and Jones followed with a layup as Central Arkansas grabbed the lead right back. There were nine ties and 10 lead changes in the second half.