HOUSTON, Texas _ The meat of the Southland Conference schedule begins Thursday for the University of Central Arkansas Bears as they take on the Houston Baptist Huskies at 7 p.m. at Sharp Gym.

The Bears won their first two conference games over Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, then took a one-game break for a forgettable loss at Top 30 Marquette last Saturday in Milwaukee, Wis. Next up are 18 consecutive SLC games over the next two months, beginning with the Huskies.

The Bears (3-10) and Huskies (0-10) have played arguably the toughest non-conference schedules in the league. UCA has had road games at Duke, Georgetown, Utah, Wichita State, Baylor and Marquette. HBU counters with matchups against Texas Tech, Michigan, Houston, Dayton, New Mexico and Tulsa.

The Bears came from behind to win both their earlier SLC games, beating UIW in overtime and overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit to beat the Islanders. Both of those games were played at the Farris Center. UCA now goes on the road for the HBU matchup. The Bears are 2-2 in games played at Sharp Gym, but have won the past two meetings in 2017 and 2018, by an average of 15 points. 

The Huskies, led by veteran head coach Ron Cottrell in his 29th season, won 75-71 last year at the Farris Center, making 11 three-pointers and getting 21 points from Ty Dalton. UCA, which went 6 of 24 from three-point range, was led by senior Thatch Unruh with 22 points.

UCA junior center Hayden Koval has played three of his best career games against the Huskies, including a triple-double as a freshman (17 points, 10 rebounds, 11 blocked shots) and a near triple-double a year ago with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. Sophomore Eddy Kayouloud is leading the Bears in scoring at 15.5 points per game, followed by junior guard Rylan Bergersen at 14.0 and Koval at 10.7.

Ian DuBose tops the Huskies in points (16.5 a game, fourth in the Southland) and rebounds (6.3). HBU is seventh in the Southland in scoring (76.6 points per game) but is allowing a league-worst 101.2 points per game. HBU's opponents have topped the 90-point mark nine times and have scored over 100 points five times. 

The Bears, under the direction of associate head coach Anthony Boone, return home on Saturday, hosting the McNeese Cowboys at 3 p.m. at the Farris. UCA, off to its first 2-0 start since joining the SLC in 2006-07, plays seven of its first 10 conference games at home.