CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears completely dominated an old nemesis Wednesday night and broke a losing streak in the process.

UCA had three players with at least 19 points and shot 50.9 percent from the field in blasting the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 92-74 in Southland Conference action at the Farris Center. The Bears (11-17, 6-9) broke a seven-game losing streak and won for the first time since Jan. 23. Even more impressive, the Bears beat the Lumberjacks for just the second time in 20 career meetings dating back to 2007. 

Senior guard Thatch Unruh scored 20 points and added 4 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Bears, who were coming off their worst loss of the season on Saturday at Nicholls State. Sophomore DeAndre Jones had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, while freshman Eddy Kayouloud had 19 points, 7 rebounds and made three three-pointers. As a team, the Bears went 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, while holding the Lumberjacks to just 2 of 15 (13.3 percent). 

"When we got back off our trip on Monday,' UCA head coach Russ Pennell said, "our guys wanted to have a meeting without the coaches. They met for awhile, then they wanted to have a meeting in the afternoon again. So whatever was said, I didn't ask and I don't really care. It's a thing between them. But it's funny, when you kind of clear the air and your mind is in the right place, just how well you can play.

"And I thought tonight, everyone played with passion and energy, unselfish, and we just did the things it takes to be a winning basketball team.' 

The Bears came out aggressive and feisty from the opening tip and led by as many as 22 points in the first half. UCA shot 51.5 percent from the field and went 7 of 14 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, while SFA (14-13, 7-8) shot 34.3 percent and was 0 for 9 from the perimeter.

UCA, which led for 35:04 of the game's 40 minutes. connected on 25 of 32 free throws, including 17 of 19 in the second half that helped put the game away. Jones finished 9 of 10 and Kayouloud and sophomore Jared Chatham were both 4 for 4. Sophomore center Hayden Koval had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, while freshman Khaleem Bennett had 12 points (5 of 6 from the field) and Chatham had 8 points and 4 rebounds.

"We told our guys, Stephen F. Austin was down 20 to Baylor and came back and won, they were 20 down to Abilene Christian and came back and won,' said Pennell. "So we knew what they were capable of. They are so explosive, especially with (Kevon) Harris and (Shannon) Bogues. And what I thought we did, we made a couple of silly mistakes and kind of let them have some opportunities. But then we kind of settled down and ran our offense well, and then just got some big baskets, big timely baskets to stretch the lead back out.

"We were certainly leery of them and I think we played accordingly, which is good because you want to be a great closing team.'

SFA won the first meeting this season 105-99 in overtime in Nacogdoches, Texas. Harris, a junior guard, had 33 points, and Bogues, a senior guard, had 18. Graduate Davonte Fitzgerald had 29, including 5 of 8 from three-point range in the win. On Wednesday night, Bogues scored 23 but shot 5 of 17 from the field and needed a 13 of 17 performance at the free-throw line to top 20 points. Harris had 21 (1 of 4 from three-point range) and Fitzgerald fouled out with just 8 points in 10 minutes of action, with the final foul a technical at the 17:51 mark of the second half.

"I thought Thatch Unruh had a great defensive game, especially the first half,' said Pennell. "He just did an outstanding job. The thing with Thatch is he plays good position. Harris is a guy that doesn't shoot it great but he loves to drive the ball. Thatch understands that and played the angles well. 

"If Bogues goes 5 for 17 and Harris goes 9 for 16, that's about as good a job as you can do on those guys. So I was really pleased with the defensive effort. You hold Stephen F. Austin to 40 percent shooting, you're going to have a chance. '

The Bears have three regular-season games remaining, including Saturday afternoon's Senior Day for Unruh, Tanner Schmit and Jordan Grant. The top eight teams reach the SLC Tournament in Katy, Texas, on March 13-17.

"I told the guys, let's not worry about the next three (games) and Katy and all that,' Pennell said. "Let's enjoy what we did tonight and try to play that way again.'