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NATCHITOCHES, La. _ It's now a one-game season for the University of Central Arkansas Bears.

A win over Northwestern State at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon earns the Bears one of the eight spots in the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament next week at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. A loss to the Demons ends their season short of postseason play for the first time in three years.

The Bears will carry some solid momentum into Saturday's matchup after knocking off No. 1 Sam Houston State 91-87 on the road on Wednesday in Huntsville, Texas. The Bears (12-18, 7-10) shot a blistering 65 percent from the field in the second half and made 13 of 27 (48.1 percent) from three-point range for the game to hand the Bearkats just their second SLC loss of the season and second home loss this year.

That victory put the Bears into a two-way tie with Stephen F. Austin in eighth place in the SLC standings at 7-10. Northwestern State is right behind at 6-11, along with Nicholls State. SFA closes at home against Sam Housto State on Saturday while Nicholls hosts No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana.

In their last outing, five Bears scored in double figures, led by sophomore guard DeAndre Jones with 22 points, including an 11-for-11 performance at the free-throw line. Six of those came in the final 25 seconds as UCA held off SHSU. Hayden Koval and Jared Chatham had 16 points each _ a career high for Chatham _ with Thatch Unruh adding 14 points and Eddy Kayouloud 13.

Northwestern State (11-19)  lost 83-60 to Nicholls on Wednesday on the road in Thibodaux, La., and have lost two straight. The Demons are 7-6 at home at Prather Coliseum this season, 3-5 against Southland opponents. NSU features one of the top scorers and rebounders in the league in 6-foot-8 senior forward/center Ishmael Lane, who averages 13.7 points and 9.2 rebounds and shoots 51 percent from the field (sixth in the SLC). Lane is also tied with UCA's Hayden Koval for the conference lead in blocked shots with 2.2 per game.

UCA counters with three players averaging double figures, led by Jones at 12.7 points per game, followed by Koval (12.3) and Unruh (11.8). Jones leads the league in assists (5.1 per game) and is third in steals (2.0). Unruh moved into third all-time in three-pointers at UCA with three against Sam Houston. He now has 174 for his career and is also just eight points short of becoming the 20th player in UCA history to score 1,000 career points.

The Demons won the first meeting with the Bears 80-75 at the Farris Center in Conway on Feb. 2. In that game, the Bears dug themselves a 51-27 halftime hole before outscoring the Demons 48-29 in the second half to make it a game late. Lane had 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Demons, while Unruh tossed. in a career-high 33 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Koval added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The final regular-season game will be carried live on The Bear 91.3 with Justin Acri.