CONWAY, Ark. _ The "Governor's I-40 Showdown" moves to the hardwood Wednesday night when the University of Central Arkansas Bears host the Little Rock Trojans at 7 p.m. at the Farris Center.

The year-long competition pits UCA and Little Rock in a head-to-head battle in all the sports in which both schools compete, 11 sports covering 17 total contests in this first year. Women's basketball will be added next year. The two meetings in basketball will be worth four points each. Through the fall sports, UCA leads the competition 14.5 points to 3.5 points.

"We're excited about Wednesday night and the game with the Trojans,' said UCA head coach Russ Pennell. "That's becoming something that I think over time will continue to built upon and even more exciting. When you play someone in that close proximity, with a lot of fan interest... I think that makes for a really, really good story and a lot of excitement.

"We're hoping we have a good crowd and we perform well and it's a good night for the Bears.'

The Bears (2-4) and Trojans (3-3), who will meet again on Saturday, Dec. 8 at Little Rock's Jack Stephens Center, both are in need of a victory. UCA is coming off a 73-61 loss at Saint Louis on Saturday, the third consecutive loss for the Bears against tough competition. Their other losses were at Missouri, at Pittsburgh and at Troy.

The Trojans, under first-year head coach Darrell Walker, lost 75-66 to Arkansas-Pine Bluff at home last Saturday, and also have losses at Nevada and Tulsa.

The Bears, starting three freshman and a sophomore, are averaging 76 points a game, led by true freshman guard/forward Eddy Kayouloud at 14.3 points per game. Kayouloud scored a career-high 30 points at Troy and had 19 points in the opener at Mizzou. Sophomore point guard DeAndre Jones posted a career-high 22 points last Saturday at Saint Louis and is also dishing out a team-high 3.8 assists per game.  

UCA's lone senior in the starting lineup, guard Thatch Unruh, is averaging 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and led the Bears in scoring twice this season.

The Bears are the second-best three-point shooting team in the Southland Conference, hitting 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. They hit a season-high 11 threes at Troy and have had double-figure three-pointers three times in six games.

The Trojans have made 42 three-pointers and are shooting 34.1 percent from the arc. Overall, Little Rock is shooting 50.6 percent, second best in the Sun Belt Conference, including Kris Bankston at a whopping 86.7 percent (26 of 30) and Nikola Maric at 62.9 percent (22 of 35). The free-throw line has not been as kind to the Trojans, who are hitting just 61.3 percent on foul shots. UCA makes 73 percent of its free throws, led by Jones at 91.7 percent (22 of 24).

Little Rock has four players averaging in double figures, led by Rayjon Tucker at 18.4 points per game. Freshman guard Markquis Nowell scored 34 points in his debut against Division II Southeastern Oklahoma, a 101-92 overtime win by the Trojans.

The teams split their two meetings a year ago, before the "Governor's I-40 Showdown" was announced, with Little Rock winning 71-65 at home and UCA taking a 69-54 victory at the Farris Center, breaking an 11-game winning streak by the Trojans in the series.

After Wednesday, UCA returns to the road for five consecutive games, beginning at Louisville on Dec. 5. The others road contests are Little Rock (Dec. 8), New Mexico (Dec. 16), Indiana (Dec. 19) and Oklahoma State (Dec. 21).