BEARS EARN 8TH SEED VIA SLC TIEBREAKER

    NATCHITOCHES, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears dug themselves too deep of a hole Saturday and dropped their regular-season finale 97-83 to the Northwestern State Demons at Prather Coliseum.

    With a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament on the line, UCA came out flat, shooting just 37.1 percent from the field in the first half and trailing 57-36 at halftime. The Bears (8-23, 7-11) turned it around in the second half, behind a tough effort from junior Mathieu Kamba, outscoring the Demons 47-40 in the final 20 minutes and putting some doubt in the outcome down the stretch.

    The Bears ended in a five-way tie for eighth place, and as the scenarios played out, eventually earned the tiebreaker and 8th seed over Nicholls State. UCA will face No. 5 Sam Houston State at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, on ESPN3. 

    The Bears cut what had been as much as a 24-point deficit to just seven points on a driving layup by Kamba with 4:20 to play. But UCA could get no closer as the Demons (13-16, 7-11) made just enough free throws to set the final. For the game, NSU was 22 of 26 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line and shot 61.5 percent from the field. NSU senior Zeek Woodley led the Demons with 25 points and became the school's career scoring leader with his first basket of the game.

    "We just didn't respond very well in the first half,' said third-year head coach Russ Pennell. "And at halftime, I kind of questioned our motivation for being here. And I thought the guys responded. I think we came out and we battled. 

    "Unfortunately that's kind our right now where we're at as a program. If we would play with that effort all the time, we wouldn't be wouldn't be worried about Katy on the last game of the season. I think the tell-tale sign is, the two games against Stephen F. Austin were arguably as hard as we've played. If we had that kind of effort every night... and we're getting there.

    "Two years ago, this was a 30-point blowout. We would have just gone home. And now we're disappointed. And that's what I told the guys, if this only lingers for a day, then we're probably not going to have much success. But if this burns in your soul and it becomes your motivation, that's what we have to do.'

    Kamba shot 10 of 15 from the field and finished with 24 points _ 19 in the second half _ and six rebounds, four points short of his career high. Junior guard Jordan Howard added 18 points and extended his school single-season three-point record with four more to give him 101 for the season. Freshman Aaron Weidenaar was 3 of 6 from three-point range and finished with a career-high 11 points. Seniors Jeff Lowery and Derreck Brooks closed out their careers with 8 and 6 points, respectively.

    "Mathieu was very active,' said Pennell. "I think he really tried the second half to play to win. What we have to do, as he goes into his senior year, that's got to become the staple. He has to understand that without that kind of effort, he's just an ordinary player. But with that kind of effort, he's special.

    "Because he's as talented, athletically, as anyone, and I'm talking at the high D-I level. I was there, I've coached in three major conferences, and I've seen wings like him. And when he's like he was tonight, there's no answer for him. He can go around anyone and he can finish on anyone. I was very proud of the way he played the second half.'

    The Bears dropped their last five games of the conference season, including two overtime losses. The seven SLC victories ties the most since UCA moved to NCAA Division I in 2006-07.

    "You hate for it to come crashing down like it did,' said Pennell, "but I'm proud of the guys. They're easy guys to coach. We've just got to get better. We've got to be able to get over the hump. I hate that we didn't finish stronger down the stretch, because that's two straight years. And we have to analyze everything in our program, from coaches to players to everything else.'

    Howard extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one three-pointer to 71 straight. Brooks, the 2015-16 SLC Newcomer of the Year from Portland, Ore., closed his career with 746 career points, 382 career rebounds and 165 career assists over his two-year carer. Lowery, a point guard from Phoenix, Ariz., ended with 380 career points and 169 career assists.