CONWAY, Ark _ University of Central Arkansas forward Tadre Sheppard was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Bears to an 81-71 victory over UT Martin on Saturday.

Sheppard, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound junior from Lubbock, Texas, had career highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds against UTM, and also added his first three-pointer of the season and blocked two shots as the Bears won their third consecutive game.

"Tadre had an outstanding game on Saturday,' said UCA head coach Rand Chappell. "He really played with high energy and seemed like he got every ball around the basket. And in a a critical stretch, he stuck a couple of them back in for some very important points. He got to the foul line and he actually hit a huge three-pointer at the end of the run that was big for us.'

Sheppard, a transfer from Western Oklahoma State, has averaged 14.8 points and 9 rebounds in UCA's past four games.

"What's been exciting with Tadre over probably the last four weeks, you can see almost daily improvement in his game and things he's doing better. It's great to see it paying off like it is. And we expect him to continue to improve throughout the season.'

UCA hosts Harris-Stowe at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Farris Center.