ST. LOUIS, Mo. _ The Saint Louis Billikens were too much for the University of Central Arkansas Bears on Tuesday night, grabbing a 88-65 victory at an empty Chaifetz Center.

SLU, receiving votes in the Top 25 polls, improved to 4-0 on the young season while the Bears dropped to 0-3 against a formidable non-conference schedule.

The Bears outrebounded the athletic Billikens 36-35 but Saint Louis made up the difference by forcing UCA into 27 turnovers.SLU turned those into 30 important points. against the Bears, who were playing their third game in five days, all on the road. In the only other meeting between the teams two years ago, SLU dominated the boards 47-24.

"Saint Louis is an outstanding team,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone, who was an assistant coach when the Bears lost to the Billikens 73-61 back in November of 2018. "We may not face a team that's better than them, maybe Baylor. But our guys competed. We beat them on the glass but then we turned the ball over a lot. That's something we'll have to address. 

"But I couldn't put that all on the guys. We really haven't had any practices since before the Memphis game. We come to the gym after a game and do a walk-through and then play the next day, then do a walk-through and play the next day. So we haven't had a chance to work on that. 

"But this is something to build on. I think our guys really pulled together in the second half. Everybody was engaged. Guys on the bench were engaged, everybody was in to it. It was a really great glimpse of what a team should look like. And I was really excited about that. The guys' effort, especially on the glass, that was something to be proud of.'

The Bears turned it over 13 time in the opening half and shot just 37 percent from the field, but trailed only 39-27 at halftime. Sophomore Jaxson Baker came off the bench with an offensive spark, leading the Bears with eight points and going 3 of 3 from the field, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. The bigger Billikens had 26 points in the paint in the opening 20 minutes and enjoyed as much as a 14-point first-half lead.

The Bears had a nice run to open the second half, getting to within six points before the Billikens extended the margin back out for good. UCA had four players in double figures, led by senior gaurd Rylan Bergersen with 16 points. Senior Jared Chatham, in the starting lineup for the first time this season, had a season-high 13 points and  5 rebounds, while senior guard DeAndre Jones had 10 points and a season-best eight assists. Baker hit a pair of three-pointers and scored 10 points.

"Both those guys, Jared and Jaxson, came out and played well,' said Boone. "I thought Jared played well the last game. Jaxson didn't play as well at Little Rock, he was kind of in a fog or something. But he came out and had a different role today, came out focused and played really well. I was really excited about that and really proud of Jaxson and Jared for handling the change in the roles today. '

UCA played 10 different players with eight scoring. The Bears shot 44 percent from both the field and from three-point range (7 of 16) and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.

"That's (team chemisty) is certainly something we're building toward,' said Boone. "We want to encourage our guys in that way. That will lead to the best season possible for us. That above everything. Hard work and the right attitude, and the guys having the chemistry on and off the court.'

The Bears now prepare for a three-game swing, over five days, through the Southeastern Conference, beginning with an historic meeting with the Arkansas Razorbacks at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville. UCA then takes on Ole Miss on Monday in Oxford, Miss, followed by Mississippi State on Wednesday in Starkville, Miss.