CONWAY, Ark. _  If the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament began today, the University of Central Arkansas Bears would be in the field, but several more victories are needed to assure their spot in the Katy, Texas, tournament for the third consecutive year.

To reach that goal, the Bears (10-14, 5-6) will need to break a four-game losing streak, one that followed a four-game winning streak earlier in the season. UCA will try to end the most recent slide when its hosts the Houston Baptist Huskies at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Farris Center.

The Bears have beaten the Huskies two consecutive years, including a 100-80 victory a year ago in Houston. In that game, then-freshman center Hayden Koval recorded just the third triple-double in school history with 17 points, 10 rebounds and a school-record 11 blocked shots. Senior guard Jordan Howard supplied much of the offense with 35 points, including five three-pointers. The Huskies shot 38.8 percent on their home court and allowed the Bears to shoot at a 56-percent clip, including 65.4 percent in the second half in which they scored 53 points.

The Bears are coming off a 75-67 loss to Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday afternoon in which they shot just 34 percent overall  and made 6 of 24 from three-point range. The Huskies have played back-to-back overtime games, beating Lamar 88-82 at home and losing 81-76 at New Orleans.

HBU enters the game as the top scoring team in the SLC at 79.5 points per game, but also allows the most point in the conference at 81.7. The Huskies are also the second-best rebounding team in the SLC (37.7), while the Bears are third in three-pointers per game at 8.3. 

Sophomore Ian DuBose leads the Huskies in scoring and is second in the league at 17.9 points per game. UCA's DeAndre Jones is tied for first in assists (4.8) and Koval is second in blocked shots (1.8).

The Bears have seven regular-season games remaining and the Huskies have eight. The top eight teams in the SLC standings make the tournament, with UCA currently tied for seventh and HBU 11th. This the only meeting of the season for the teams. Sam Houston State is trying to run away with the league title with an 11-0 mark and a three-game lead on second-place Abilene Christian.

UCA has three more home games, against HBU, Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian, and four road matchups, at McNeese State, Nicholls, Sam Houston and Northwestern State.