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Central Arkansas freshman Nehemiah Turner becomes the first hero of March with career night

A new handful of legends sprout up with each passing March, including names like DJ Burns and Jack Gohlke last season, and Central Arkansas freshman Nehemiah Turner is looking to become the next household name. His Bears are still a long way from punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but we saw the top seed in the ASUN Tournament fall in the quarterfinals last season, so there’s no reason to think it couldn’t happen again.

Last year, sophomore Robert McCray V scored 91 points in Jacksonville’s miracle ASUN Tournament run, and Turner is already on his way to keep up with that tally, scoring 37 points last night as Central Arkansas fended off Stetson for the right to matchup with top seeded Lipscomb. The Bears and Hatters met on Lipscomb’s home court on Sunday night, with the winner advancing to take on the Bison on Monday.

Through Central Arkansas’s first 23 games of the season, Turner was largely a non-factor, reaching double digits in the scoring column just twice. He’s leveled up his game ever since early February, notching 11+ points in each of the last nine games. After setting his career-high in the final game of the regular season when Central Arkansas fell at Lipscomb with 24 points, he shattered that mark last night against Stetson.

After falling behind 6-3 early, Turner scored six of the game’s next 10 points, pushing UCA in front with a 13-6 lead. It was Stetson which finished the first half on a heater though, taking a 37-32 advantage into the break with all the momentum. Turner had 13 points at the half, but he was just starting to stake his claim on this game. Turner would score or assist 18 of the Bears’ first 26 points in the second half, pushing UCA in front 58-53.

With under nine minutes to go and the score 61-60 after Stetson crawled back into the game, Turner completely took over the scoring load. The freshman forward would score UCA’s next 10 points, single-handedly keeping the tenth-seeded Bears in the game. His slam with 2:53 to go to break a tie and make it 71-69 in favor of Central Arkansas would be the bucket that put the Bears up for good.

Stetson had a late chance to stay in the game with the score 75-72 with under 20 seconds to play, but the shot from Stetson guard Josh Massey was off the mark and Turner would haul in the rebound, earning himself a double-double before sinking two free throws to cap a 77-72 victory. It’s not often you see a freshman completely take over a game in a conference tournament, but that is what the young man from Auburndale, Florida did on Sunday night.

Now, Nehemiah Turner and his teammates will have to quickly turn around and prepare for a rematch with top-seeded Lipscomb, which will tip off less than 24 hours after Sunday’s game went final at 8:00 ET on Monday night. Lipscomb fended off Central Arkansas 78-60 on the same court in the teams’ regular season finale, but Turner will look to improve on the 24-point mark he recorded in that matchup as he hopes to lead Central Arkansas on the run of a lifetime.

Other Things to Note:

• Jaxon Kohler grabs a career-high 16 rebounds as #8 Michigan State pushes past #11 Wisconsin 71-62
• 62-point second half fuels Illinois’s 93-73 blowout on the road against #15 Michigan
• #18 Memphis outlasts UAB 88-81 behind 16 points and 17 rebounds from Dain Dainja
• Atlantic Sun Tournament action continues on with the quarterfinal round (7:00 & 8:00 ET, ESPN)
• #4 Houston looks to complete season sweep of Kansas on ESPN Big Monday (9:00 ET, ESPN)