CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears have never beaten the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks, but they came oh so close last season _ twice in fact.

    The Lumberjacks survived 78-76 in the first meeting on their home court at Johnson Coliseum when the Bears misfired on a late three-pointer that would have tied the game. In the rematch in Conway, the Bears took the league-leading Lumberjacks to overtime before falling 90-85.

    Those two point spreads were the closest in the 16-game history of the series dating back to UCA's first season in the Southland Conference (2006-07).  UCA's previous two losses in the series were by 20 points in 2016 and 51 points in 2015. SFA won the SLC regular-season and tournament titles and made the NCAA Tournament in both those seasons.

    The teams will meet for the 17th time at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at the Farris center. This year, the Lumberjacks are 16-3 overall and 5-1 in league play, a half-game behind both Nicholls (6-1) and Southeastern Louisiana (6-1). SLU beat SFA 73-62 in the SLC opener on Dec. 28 in Hammond, La. The Lumberjacks are 5-3 on the road this season, with losses at SLU and Missouri and Mississippi State from the Southeastern Conference.

    UCA stands 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the conference after splitting a pair of games last week. The Bears upset first-place New Orleans 81-57 last Wednesday night at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, then turned in a poor second half in Saturday's 80-63 loss to Abilene Christian at the Farris Center.

    UCA senior guard Jordan Howard broke the UCA career scoring record on Saturday with 28 points against ACU. However, he was the only UCA player in double figures as the Bears shot just 31 percent from the field in the second half and made just 5 of 21 (23.8 percent) from three-point range for the game. The Bears are third in the SLC in three-point shooting at 36 percent but have been held to seven or less in their past three games after consecutive games of hitting 13. 

    Howard leads the SLC in scoring and is fourth in the nation at 24.5 points per game. He is also the active career scoring leader in the NCAA with 2,158 points and is second in three-pointers with 342. Against SFA last season, Howard scored 25 points (6 of 8 from three-point range) and 16 points. Freshman guard DeAndre Jones, in his first five starts over the past three weeks, is averaging 9.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 2.6 steals for the Bears. 

    Fellow freshman 7-foot center Hayden Koval leads the SLC in blocked shots with 57, and his 2.9 average is better than four teams in the SLC, including SFA, which averages 2.4 blocks per game. Koval has had at least three blocked shots in nine games this season. Senior Mathieu Kamba is UCA's second-leading scorer at 12.8 points and leading rebounder at 6.2 rebounds. He had a combined 34 points and 16 rebounds in the two games against SFA last year.

    SFA has three players scoring in double figures, led by 6-foot-6, 225-pound foward Kevon Harris at 17.1 per game. Junior forward TJ Holyfield is next at 14.6, followed by junior guard Shannon Bogues at 13.3 off the bench. The Lumberjacks lead the SLC in field goal percentage (48.2 percent) and scoring margin (+13.5), averaging 80.9 points and allowing just 67.5. That does include four games of more than 89 points _ including games with 118 and 119 points _ against non-Division I opponents.

    UCA is second in the SLC in scoring at 78.8 points per game, while SFA is second in scoring defense at 67.5 points per game. The Bears average a league-best 16.8 assists per game, while the Lumberjacks are first in steals per game (11.3) and turnover margin (+6.4).
    
    Wednesday's game is part of the annual "Suits & Sneakers - Coaches vs. Cancer" initiative of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Fans will be admitted free with any donation of $5 or more, with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.