CONWAY, Ark. _ The odds seem to be in favor of the University of Central Arkansas Bears for the next two weeks as they embark on a five-game homestand at the Farris Center.

    Home court has been quite the advantage for the 13 Southland Conference men's basketball teams so far, as they are a combined 33-103 in road games this season. Only one team, second-place Sam Houston State, does not have a losing record away from home, and the Bearkats are just 5-5. Even first-place New Orleans, which is 7-1 in league play, is 4-5 away from Lakefront Arena.

    The Bears open their longest homestand of the season Saturday against Incarnate Word, a team that is 8-2 at home but 0-8 on the road on the season. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 4 p.m. at the Farris Center following the women's matchup.

    The Bears (4-17, 3-5) will be playing just their sixth home game of the season. They are 1-4 at the Farris Center, but their losses have come to teams with a combined overall record of 50-30. The victory is over preseason league favorite Sam Houston State, a team that stands 15-6 overall and 6-2 and in second place in the Southland.

    UCA is coming off a near miss at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday night in Nacogdoches. The Bears had two three-point attempts in the final 10 seconds that would have tied the game with the four-time defending conference champions. UCA, which got 25 points from junior Jordan Howard, misfired twice and dropped a 78-76 decision at Johnson Coliseum.

    The Bears made 10 of 17 (58.8 percent) from three-point range against the Lumberjacks, just the third time this season they have had double figure three-pointers. Howard, the career leader at UCA as a junior, was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. Junior Mathieu Kamba had 16 points and seven rebounds and true freshman Darraja Parnell came off the bench for 13 points, hitting 8 of 9 free throws.  

    The Cardinals have won three straight games, including Thursday night's 82-79 home victory over Abilene Christian. Sophomore Simi Socks scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while junior Jalin Hart added 20 points and five assists. All three of the games in the winning streak were at home at the McDermott Convocation Center. 

    UIW, which leads the overall series 5-0, beat UCA 71-69 at last year in San Antonio, connecting on 12 three-pointers. Howard topped the Bears with 16 points, while Kamba added 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. UIW's two leading scorers in the game, Kyle Hittle (24 points) and Mitchell Badillo (17), were both seniors.

    The Cardinals lead the Southland in three-point shooting this season, hitting at a 37.9 percent clip. UCA counters with the top individual three-point shooter in Howard, who is 69 of 149 (46.3 percent). He is also the top free-throw shooter in the SLC at 91.3 percent (94 of 101) and the No. 2 scorer, averaging 19.4 points per game.

    UCA will also host Northwestern State on Wednesday, Feb. 2, Southeastern Louisiana (Feb. 4), Abilene Christian (Feb. 9) and Nicholls (Feb. 11) during the homestand.