CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears return home Tuesday night in search of their first victory and first Southland Conference victory when they host the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at the Farris Center.

    The Bears and Islanders will meet at approximately 7:30 following the women's game that is scheduled for 5:30.

    UCA (0-12, 0-1) opened league play Sunday afternoon with an 87-70 loss at Abilene Christian. The Islanders (5-7) will be playing their first SLC game of the season.

    The teams match up well offensively, with both squads averaging 64.7 points per game. A&M-CC shoots slightly better from the field overall (43.9 percent) while UCA is better from beyond the three-point line (35.7 percent). Both are ranked near the bottom of the conference in rebounding. 

    The Islanders have far better defensive numbers, allowing just 66.0 points per game, while UCA's opponents are scoring at an 83.9-point clip. 

    The Islanders last played on Dec. 30 in an 87-55 victory over NAIA Jarvis Christian. A&M-CC leads the overall series 9-1, with all games coming since the teams joined the Southland in 2006-07. UCA's lone victory came on the road in Corpus Christi in 2013.

    UCA junior guard Mike Martin is ranked fourth in the SLC in three-point percentage (45.8), while freshman guard Jordan Howard is second in three-pointers made per game (2.6) and seventh in scoring (15.5). Junior center Jake Zuilhof is seventh in field goal percentage (58.5) and sixth in blocked shots per game (1.8).

    For the Islanders, Rashawn Thomas is second in rebounding (8.2), while John Jordan is ninth in scoring (14.8) and fifth in assists (4.2).

    The Bears return to the road Saturday at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.