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    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas _ When the University of Central Arkansas Bears match up with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Tuesday night at the American Bank Center, the key word will be matchup.

    One Islander in particular, Rashawn Thomas, has proven to be a tough assignment for opponents this season. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior forward is second in the Southland Conference in scoring at 17.6 points per game, first in rebounding at 8.5 per game and first in blocked shots at 2.5 per game. 

    Thomas has helped the Islanders to a 9-3 overall record, their best 12-game start in program history, with their only losses to Texas, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. Tuesday's game will be their SLC opener.

    UCA is 1-10 overall and coming off a 62-61 loss at home to Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon. The Bears fought back from a 14-point deficit against the Wildcats and had a shot at the buzzer to win the game.

    The Bears' leading scorer on the season is sophomore guard Jordan Howard, who averages 15.6 points per game, tied for fourth in the SLC. He scored a team-high 18 points on Saturday against ACU, his 38th double-figure game of his UCA career. 

    The Islanders have dominated the series with the Bears since the teams joined the conference in 2006-07, leading 10-1. However, UCA's lone victory in the series came in Corpus Christi in 2013. A&M-CC won 77-70 a year ago in Conway, with the Bears outscoring the Islanders 43-34 in the second half after trailing by 16 at halftime.

    UCA center Jake Zuilhof had his best game as a Bear with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Thomas had 11 points and 9 rebounds for the Islanders.

    After Tuesday's game, the Bears return home to host the Lamar Cardinals at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center.