HUNTSVILLE, Texas _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears could not complete the season sweep of Sam Houston State on Saturday, falling 82-67 in Southland Conference action at Johnson Coliseum.

The Bears (9-17, 8-7), who beat the Bearkats (17-9, 10-5) by seven points last month in Conway, dug themselves a hole from which they could not recover. UCA had 24 turnovers that turned into 32 points for SHSU. The Bears trailed 47-34 at halftime and then suffered 14 second-half turnovers that thwarted any comeback attempts.

"We came out and we just weren't tough enough,' said UCA interim head coach Anthony Boone. "We weren't tough enough today. A number of guys let us down in that area. They (SHSU) has always been a tough team. Coach (Jason) Hooten does a good job of getting his guys hyped up to play that way. And our guys are going to have to get accustomed to that kind of physical play.

"When we get to the conference tournament, that's how it's going to be. Some things that might be bump fouls won't be fouls anymore. So this should be a good lesson for our guys. We're going to have to go back and prove that we're a tougher team than we showed today.'  

The Bears got a monster game from junior center Hayden Koval, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots to keep UCA within striking distance. That made up for sub-par games from junior point guard DeAndre Jones and junior guard Rylan Bergersen. Jones, who was dominant in the first meeting with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists (including six three-pointers), was held to just 2 points but did tie his career high with 11 assists. Bergersen, UCA's leading scorer who was battling the flu, also scored 2 points and went 1 of 6 from the field.

"Rylan gave us all he had today,' said Boone. "He's been sick for a couple of days and he's just getting back. He has no energy but he still gave us all he had.' 

Koval had help from senior Aaron Weidenaar off the bench with 10 points and a perfect shooting day (3 of 3 overall, 2 of 2 from three-point and 2 of 2 at the free-throw line). Sophomore Eddy Kayouloud added 16 points and 5 rebounds for the Bears, who entered the game having won four of their past five games. 

"He (Koval) had a great game on the offensive end,' said Boone. "Hayden does what he does, he does what he normally does. We always have pretty consistent effort from him. And that was certainly a bright spot. And I think Aaron came in and played pretty good.'

SHSU forward Kai Mitchell scored 30 points to lead three Bearkats in double figures. Mitchell was 11 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from three-point range. Guard Zach Nutall added 21 points for SHSU, which had just nine turnovers.

UCA continues its tough road trip at league-leader Stephen F. Austin at 6:30 Wednesday in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Lumberjacks edged the Bears 77-76 in the first meeting in which Jones was out with an ankle injury.