CONWAY, Ark. _ A meaningful era of University of Central Arkansas men's basketball will close at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center with the final home game for the 2017-18 Bears.

    The Senior Day activities will put a final stamp on a rebuilding project that began four years ago with the hiring of head coach Russ Pennell, and with the Bears' three seniors who will be playing their final game on their home court prior to heading to their second consecutive Southland Conference Tournament.

    The trio of Ethan Lee, Jordan Howard and Mathieu Kamba survived the early, unpleasant years of a massive makeover to make Central Arkansas basketball relevant again. Not only have they found success on the court, with an NCAA Division I high of 15 victories this season and back-to-back berths in the Southland Conference Tournament, but they have reshaped the image of what it means to be a UCA Bear.

    "Senior Day is always difficult,' said Pennell, who also had a senior day as a UCA player in the early 1980s. "It's difficult to say goodbye to kids. If you want to see a grown man cry, come out to the Farris Center on Saturday. These three guys have done an unbelievable job putting our program back on the map, putting us back in the conversation. All they went through those first couple of years, the 40-point blowouts, the losing records, the long bus trips after a big loss, the no postseason play... 

    "They deserve everything they are getting now. We are indebted to three young men forever.'

    Lee and Howard have both already earned their degrees and Kamba will do the same shortly. Howard, a 5-foot-11 guard from Chandler, Ariz., has etched his name all over the UCA record books as one of, if not the best, college player in UCA history. He is the career scoring leader at UCA, in the state of Arkansas among Division I schools and is No. 6 all-time in the Southland Conference.

    Howard owns the UCA, SLC and Arkansas records for three-pointers with 374 and counting, and holds the top three single-season marks in UCA history with 101, 101 and 95. He is the current scoring leader among active players in the NCAA with 2,417 points, and is tied for the active lead in three-pointers. Howard is second in the nation in points this season with 773 and third in scoring average at 25.8 points per game.

    The most prolific scorer in UCA history, Howard has scored in double figures in 115 of his 119 career games and made at least one three-pointer in 115 of 119. He topped the 40-point mark twice this season and has 13 games of 30-plus points over his career.  

    Kamba, from Calgary, Alberta, is one of the rare players to put up both 1,000 points (1,397) and 600 rebounds (684) over his four-year career. A 53-percent career shooter, Kamba has eight career double-doubles and has scored in double figures in 73 games during his career. Kamba scored a career-high 30 points against Southeastern Louisiana earlier this season, and had a career-best 15 rebounds twice, against Incarnate Word and Arizona State, both in 2016.

    Lee, a fifth-year senior from Camden, Ark., does not have the numbers of the other two, but has been just as valuable, according to Pennell. He was the lone player that Pennell retained from the previous team, for many reasons, not least of which was his personality and work ethic. Lee, who is pursuing his master's degree, has been the consummate teammate and a tireless worker. He has scored 397 career points and pulled down 295 rebounds, both as starter and coming off the bench, with career highs of 16 points (vs. Northwestern State) and 14 rebounds (vs. Sam Houston State).

    The Bears are the seventh seed in next week's SLC Tournament, no matter the outcome in Saturday's regular-season finale. UCA beat Northwestern State 95-78 in the first meeting this season in Natchitoches, La., with Howard scoring a game-high 29 points. The Demons, with one of the youngest teams in the nation, have struggled to a 4-24 overall record and a 1-16 conference mark. 
    
    They are led in nearly every category by 6-8 junior Ishmael Lane, who averages 14 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. He scored a team-high 28 points in the first game. Tipoff is set for approximately 5 p.m following the Sugar Bears' game with the Lady Demons.