Men's Basketball | 1/3/2015 12:31:00 PM

    ABILENE, Texas _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears open a "new season" Sunday afternoon when they begin Southland Conference play on the road at Abilene Christian.

    The Bears, in the midst of a rebuilding year and winless in non-conference play, will play 18 consecutive Southland games over the next two months, beginning with the Wildcats (6-7) at 3 p.m. at Moody Coliseum. The game was postponed from Saturday because of icy weather conditions in Abilene.

    "We have to look at this as an 18-game season from here on,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell, who started from scratch with a brand-new roster for 2014-15. "What we need to to is try and see what we've learned through the first 11 games, against a really tough schedule. And I want to find out where we are. The top eight teams in this league go to postseason play. I want to see, if we were eligible, could we get in that top eight.

    "And I have no idea. But that ought to be our goal. That's the thing about the Southland Conference, you are never going to make the NCAA Tournament unless you make the Southland tournament. We need to see how we stack up against the league.'

    The Bears, with just one returnee from last year's squad, are coming off a disappointing 95-60 home loss to Morehead State last Monday. The Bears shot just 39 percent in that game and were outrebounded 38-22.

    Abilene Christian was picked near the bottom like the Bears in the preseason SLC polls. The Wildcats have Tulsa, Houston and Boise State among their seven losses. The Wildcats, who beat the Bears 73-72 last season on a last-second goal-tending call, enter SLC play following an 83-81 loss at Grand Canyon University on Dec. 28. ACU has three players averaging in double figures, led by junior guard Parker Wentz at 13.5 points per gmae. 
 
    "This will be a good test for us, on the road against a quality opponent,' said Pennell. "It's kind of like we've wiped the slate clean. A new year and a new schedule.'

    Both teams rely on the three-pointer for much of their offense. ACU is second in the SLC in three-point shooting at 36.1 percent and second in threes made per game (7.8). Wentz is third in threes made (2.5 per game) and fourth in percentage (47.1). UCA is third in three-point percentage (35.6) and fourth in threes made per game (7.6). Junior guard Mike Martin is thrd in three-point percentage (48.8) while freshman Jordan Howard is second in threes per game (2.6).

    Both teams struggle on the board, with the Bears 12th in the league in rebounding and the Wildcats 13th and last. 
    
    Pennell said the Bears have learned a few things through the tough non-conference portion of their schedule.

    "I think we've learned how detailed we have to be,' he said. "I think the majority of our errors have come from the inability to sustain what we need to do for longer stretches. Not being able to self-correct when it starts going bad. Against Morehead State, we didn't play very well, but our practices since then have been really good. So I think it's just a matter of time before that transfers into a game.'

    Pennell said he feels a renewed excitement among his 11 players heading into SLC play.

    "I think they feel like they get to start over,' he said. "You don't have to carry the baggage, even though we've lost 11 in a row. They're looking ahead, and that's what we have to do. We really can't get caught up in the record right now. We really haven't played as bad as our record indicates and I think that's where we have to place our hope.

    "It's all going to come together, it's just a matter of when. I know that's the question we're asking ourselves, UCA fans are asking themselves. If we will just continue to perservere, I think we'll be fine.'

    UCA returns to the Farris Center on Tuesday night, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a doubleheader with the Sugar Bears beginning at 6 p.m.