CONWAY, Ark.._ The University of Central Arkansas Bears return home to the Farris Center for just the fifth time this season Wednesday night when they host the Sam Houston State Bearkats in Southland Conference action.

The Bears (6-9, 1-1) and Bearkats (6-8, 1-0) will tip off at 7 p.m.

UCA is coming off a stirring 73-71 road victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday in Hammond, La. Sophomore Matthew Mondesir put in a tip in with just  0.2 seconds on the clock. UCA shot 64 percent from the field in the second half. That, and a defense that held the Lions to just six field goals (27.3 percent) shooting in the first half gave the Bears their first-ever victory in Hammond and evened their SLC record to 1-1.

The Bears, who are 4-0 at home this season, host the Bearkats, who are 0-7 on the road in 2018-19. SHSU leads the overall series by a wide margin (17-3) but the teams have split their past four meetings, with UCA winning both games played in Conway. The Bearkats won in Katy, Texas, at the 2017 SLC Tournament and against last season in Huntsville, Texas, in the first of two meetings. UCA came back and dominated the rematch in Conway, winning 88-70 behind 28 points from Jordan Howard and 62.5-percent shooting in the second half when it outscored SHSU 52-37.

The teams are similar in that they both have multiple double-figure scorers but none averaging more than DeAndre Jones' 13.2 points per game for the Bears. The Bearkats are led by Cameron Delaney and Kai Mitchell, who average 10.5 points each, and Josh Delaney close behind at 10.4. Jones leads the SLC in three-point shooting at 45.5 percent, while Mitchell is the No. 3 rebounder in the conference at 7.5 per game.

Both the Bears and Bearkats are prolific three-point shooting teams. UCA is ranked second in the league with 8.5 made threes per game, while SHSU is third (8.4). The Bears' 36.9 percentage ranks third and the Bearkats' 33.8 is fourth. UCA connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers last Wednesday night at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

UCA senior guard Thatch Unruh made a pair of three-pointers at SLU to move into seventh place on the career three-pointer list at UCA with 143. He is now just nine behind sixth-place Shannon Lee. Sophomore 7-foot center Hayden Koval, the regular-season career leader in blocked shots (105 set last year) now has 126 for his career, just 22 blocks behind career record-holder Durrell Nevels 

UCA continues its two-game homestand Saturday with a 3 p.m. matchup with the Lamar Cardinals. Lamar hosts the New Orleans Privateers on Wednesday night before making the trip to Conway.