CONWAY, Ark. _ The final home playing date of the season is usually reserved for the team's "Senior Day," a game to honor the seniors playing their final game in their home arena.

    But since the rebuilding University of Central Arkansas Bears have no seniors this season, they will instead honor long-time radio announcer Monty Rowell for his 30-plus years of service in a pregame recognition prior to tip-off against Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday afternoon.

    The Bears and Lions will meet at approximately 4 p.m. at the Farris Center, following the UCA-SLU women's game that begins at 2 p.m.

    The Bears, under first-year head coach Russ Pennell, have three juniors who transferred into the program, one sophomore who was on the 2013-14 squad and seven freshmen on the roster.

    "We may have Freshman Day, Sophomore Day and Junior Day instead on Saturday,' said Pennell. "Seriously though, these guys are continuing to work hard and try to get better. We're going to get there.'

    Southeastern beat UCA 83-58 on Feb. 10 in Hammond, La., in a game in which the Bears jumped ahead  early 11-6 but then had a long scoring drought that allowed the Lions to pull out to a 48-25 halftime lead. UCA played the Lions nearly even in the second half but were too far behind at the break. 

    UCA shot 51.1 percent from the field for the game but the Lions were even better at a blisterig 63.6 percent, including 9 of 19 (47.4 percent) from three-point range on their home court. The Lions area 3-13 in road games this season.

    "The big thing I want our guys to do _ and next week is a tough week for us with three games on the road _ I do not want them giving in and giving up. I told them, that's going to tell me a lot about them. Because it's easy to play when you're winning and you're vying for a championship.

    "It's hard when you're getting your tail kicked. That's part of what I think is the initiation of a young team. So the big thing I want to see is just the effort here down the stretch.'  

    Freshman guard Jordan Howard continues to lead the Bears in scoring at 15.9 points per game, making a strong case for Southland Conference Freshman of the Year honors. He is first in the league in three-pointers made, fifth in scoring, 11th in three-point percentage and 13th in free-throw percentage.

    Junior guard Mike Martin is fifth in the SLC in assists and fourth in steals, while junior center Jake Zuilhof is ninth in field-goal percentage, seventh in blocked shots and 12th in rebounding. 

    SLU's DeVonte Upson ranks second in the league in field-goal percentage and fifth in rebounding. Zay Jackson is just behind Howard in seventh in scoring at 15.4 points per game.

    UCA finishes the season with three consecutive road games, beginning Monday at Sam Houston State. The Bears then have a two-game road trip to Nicholls on Thursday and McNeese State on Sunday.