CONWAY, ARK. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears look to get back in the Southland Conference race Saturday when they host the Abilene Christian Wildcats at the Farris Center.

UCA (5-14, 4-4), which has lost two games in a row to two of the top teams in the SLC, will face another in ACU, which is 10-8 overall and 5-2 in conference play. The Bears will now have faced the top four teams in the league standings in Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Nicholls and ACU in four consecutive games. Those four teams are a combined 26-7 in league play.

The Bears beat SHSU 89-82 before losing by one point to No. 1 SFA at home and by seven to Nicholls on the road last Saturday. UCA had an open date Wednesday before hosting the Wildcats at 3 p.m. Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the Sugar Bears on "Pink Out" day.

The Wildcats are coming off an overtime loss at SHSU on Wednesday when they were outscored 14-8 in overtime on the road in Huntsville, Texas. Prior to that loss, ACU had won three of four games, with victories over Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Southeastern Louisiana.

The Wildcats are led by senior guard Payten Ricks, who averages 13.2 points per game and shoots 33.9 percent from three-point range and 88.1 percent from the free-throw line. He also leads the SLC in steals with 2.5 per game. ACU's defense is the best in the league, allowing just 64 points per game. UCA enters Saturday's matchup averaging 74.7 points a game and has scored at least 70 points in six consecutive games dating to a loss at Marquette on Dec. 28.

The Bears are led by junior point guard DeAndre Jones, who has battled injuries to both ankles this season. He is scoring 15 points a game, but 23 points in the five SLC games in which he has played, including 26 in the loss at Nicholls when he made 6 of 7 from three-point range. Jones is second in the league in assists and three-point percentage.

The Wildcats swept the Bears in the two regular-season meetings a year ago, winning 79-56 at home in Abilene and adding a 67-55 win in the rematch at the Farris Center. The two games had huge discrepancies in free throws, with the the Bears and Wildcats combining for 54 free throws and 37 fouls in the first meeting, then UCA going 2 for 7 and ACU 3 for 3 at the line _ with 21 total fouls _ in the second.

The Bears have made at least 10 three-pointers in five of their past six games, wiht a high of 14 in a victory over McNeese on Jan. 4. However, the Wildcats are ranked second in the SLC in three-point defense, with their opponents shooting just 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.

UCA could turn to the inside presence of 7-0 junior center Hayden Koval and the driving ability of sophomore Eddy Kayouloud to offset that. In the two games last season, Koval had 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots against the Wildcats and currently leads the SLC in blocked shots with 64. Kayouloud has scored in double figures 13 times this season, including a high of 28 at California Baptist and 26 against Incarnate Word.

The Wildcats are adept at forcing turnovers, which at times this season has been a problem area for the Bears. ACU's turnover margin is a league-best +6.9. UCA averages 18.2 turnovers per game but had just 14 at Nicholls in the last outing and 16 previously against SFA, two of the top defensive teams in the SLC. 

The doubleheader will be "Pink Out" day at the Farris Center, honoring those fighting cancer and those that have lost their battles. Signs that read "I Stand For..." will be handed out at the gates so fans can recognize and acknowledge their friends and loved ones at ceremonies prior to both the women's and men's games. Also as part of the Pink Out activities, fans will receive pink pom-poms upon arrival and are encouraged to wear pink attire to the game. A silent auction will be held at the start of the game, with bidding closing at halftime of the men's game. Items to bid on include warmup shirts, signed basketballs and specialty baskets. All funds raised will be placed in a Pink Out fund that will be donated at a later date to a community member battling cancer. 

The game will be carried live on The Bear 91.3 with Justin Acri and at ucasports.com.