CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears are hoping for a better ending when they host the McNeese State Cowboys at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center.

     They are also hoping to keep the Cowboys off the free-throw line in the rematch.

     In the first meeting, the Cowboys won 87-76 at the Lake Charles Civic Center. In that game, McNeese shot 40 free throws, making 29, while UCA was just 6 of 8  from the line.

     Still, the Bears led by as much as seven points in the first half, as senior guard Dewan Clayborn came off the bench and hit a pair of big three-pointers. UCA led 31-26 with five minutes left in the half but saw the lead disappear before halftime.

     The Cowboys then put the game away by shooting 56 percent from the field and making 16 of 20 (80 percent) at the line in the second half.

     McNeese State features the league’s top scorer in senior guard/forward Patrick Richard, who averages 17.3 points per game. He scored 19 points in the first meeting, while junior guard Jeremie Mitchell had 20 points, hitting 4 of 4 from three-point range.

     UCA was led by junior Jarvis Garner with a double-double, scoring a career-high 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Garner, from Conway, is coming off an 18-point, 15-rebound effort in UCA’s loss to Texas State on Wednesday in San Marcos, Texas.

     Garner and senior guard Dewan Clayborn both made four three-pointers against McNeese as the Bears went 10 for 21 (47.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

     After Saturday, the Bears are on the road for their next three games, playing at Sam Houston State on Wednesday, at Louisiana Tech in the Sears BracketBusters on Saturday and at Nicholls State on Feb. 22.