CONWAY, Ark. _ The injuries that the University of Central Arkansas Bears continually overcame throughout the season finally knocked them out Saturday night in the regular-season finale against Sam Houston State.
    
    The showdown for a possible FCS Playoff berth between the Bears and Bearkats turned into a one-sided affair as Sam Houston State won 42-13 on a cold "Senior Night" at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

    The No. 10/12 Bearkats (8-3 overall) pulled into a second-place tie in the Southland Conference with the No. 25 Bears at 7-2, but and themselves a playoff bid with the win. The Bears will have to wait and see if their 7-4 overall and 7-2 conference marks are good enough for a postseason date. The 24-team FCS Playoff field will be announced at 10 a.m. Sunday on ESPN3.

    The Bearkats took advantage of an injury-depleted UCA lineup and raced out to a 35-6 halftime lead. SHSU had 365 yards of total offense in the first half and held UCA to a pair of field goals by senior Jace Denker. The Bryant senior connected from 45 yards out on UCA's opening possession, but it went downhill from there. The Bears' leading rusher and No. 2 ground gainer in the Southland Conference Blake Veasley, went out with an ankle injury in the first quarter. 

    UCA ended up rushing for 184 yards, including a career-high 84 on 15 carries by Conway sophomore Jeff Anderson and another career-high 58 yards on 15 carries from sophomore Darrien Daniels. However, the Bears finished with just 380 total yards and had their lowest scoring output since a 28-13 loss to undefeated league champion McNeese State on Oct. 17.

    UCA's only other score came on a 28-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to junior Jatavious Wilson with 2:00 left in the third quarter. Hildebrand sprained an ankle early in the game and was briefly replaced by senior Taylor Reed (out with injured shoulder) and freshman Kirk Baugh. Hildebrand returned and finished 17 of 33 for 189 yards, with 1 touchdown and two interceptions, both by SHSU's Mikell Everette. It was only the third and fourth interceptions by the Bears the entire season, lowest in the SLC.



    Sam Houston quarterback Jared Johnson passed for 279 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Gerald Thomas (50 yards) and LaDarius Brown (3). Cory Avery added 45 and 3-yard scoring runs, and Jalen Overstreet had a 30-yarder.

    UCA junior receiver Desmond Smith, the league's top receiver, battled a hip injury that occurred early in the game but still caught a game-high 6 passes for 65 yards. Wilson added 4 receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, senior linebacker Ricky Wyatt closed out his home career with a career-high 12 tackles, including three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. He also had 3.5 tackles for loss against the Bearkats in last year's season finale.

    Junior linebacker Garrett Sharp had six tackles, including a tackle for loss and a sack, and recovered a fumble at the UCA 1. He initially returned it 99 yards for an apparent touchdown, but an officials' review said his knee was down when he recovered it. Senior punter Matt Spencer, playing with a torn ACL suffered last week at Nicholls, punted six times for a 36.2-yard average, with a long of 54.


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    The seniors who closed out their careers on "The Stripes" included: Reed, Veasley, Wyatt, Spencer, Denker, receivers Justin Burdette and Blake Gardner, tight ends Justin Dickey and Houston Vanya, defensive linemen Jonathan Woodard, Derek Floyd and Eric Smith, receiver Blake Gardner, linebacker D.J. Holland, offensive linemen Jordan Kersh, Lance Kloker, D.J. Appe, Alec Willis and Kyle Stouffer, deep snapper Jordan Fleming and defensive backs Bobby Watkins, Dillion Winfrey and Martavis Moore.