LIVE STATS

RADIO COVERAGE

GAME NOTES

  CONWAY, Ark. _The University of Central Arkansas Bears will have to switch gears for their 4 p.m. Saturday matchup with the Northwestern State Demons.

    The Bears are coming off a 77-69 loss to Stephen F. Austin, the top defensive team in the nation, on Thursday  night. Now they host the top offense in the Southland Conference and one of the highest scoring squads in the country in the Demons.

    Northwestern State (9-5, 3-1) are averaging 83.1 points per game, but UCA is right behind in second place in the SLC at 78.4 per outing. The Demons are No. 2 in field-goal percentage (46.3 percent) while the Bears are No. 2 in three-point shooting (37.2 percent).

    “Coach (Mike) McConathy does a great job with that team,’ said UCA head coach Corliss Williamson. “He subs them in five at a time, they are a very deep team. So this will be a totally opposite game than it was against Stephen F. Austin.

    “They like to get up and down the court and push the ball in transition and shoot fast. Who knows, maybe that will play more into our favor, an up-tempo game, more speed. But it’s going to be a difficult task for us to take care of Northwestern.’

    Both teams, not surprisingly, have players ranked in the Top 15 in the SLC in scoring. The Bears (5-8, 0-3), with four players averaging double figures, are led by senior guard Robert Crawford at 15.3 points per game, followed closely by senior forward Jarvis Garner (15.1) and junior guard LaQuentin Miles (14.8). Miles had a season-high 21 points on Thursday in his return from a broken shooting hand.

    The Demons also have four scoring in double digits, led by DeQuan Hicks (14.9) and Shamir Davis (13.0).

    The team split their two meetings last season, with the road team winning both times.