HAMMOND, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears picked a bad night for a bad half of basketball Wednesday night and it resulted in what could be a costly 69-65 loss to Southeastern Louisiana at the University Center.

The Bears (10-20, 9-10) entered the game with a chance to sew up their fourth consecutive berth in next week's Southland Conference Tournament, but 20 turnovers and a 2-of-17 performance from three-point range was too much to overcome. UCA, down 35-21 at halftime, outscored the Lions 44-34 in the second half and got to within four points with 1:50 left after a 13-2 run.

But the Lions (8-22, 5-14) held on for the win that evened the season series with the Bears and kept them from possibly clinching a postseason spot. UCA won the first meeting with the Lions by 20 points last month in Conway, outscoring the Lions 48-30 in the second half. They needed a similar rally Wednesday and nearly got it, shooting 48 percent from the field and making 15 of 20 at the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes. But the perimeter shooting was still off as they went 1 of 9 from beyond the arc.

UCA also had 20 or more turnovers for the third consecutive game, and fourth in the past five. The Lions took those freebies and scored 26 points off of them. UCA easily won the rebound battle 41-30 and scored 38 points in the paint to SLU's 16, but the three-point discrepancy was the difference.

"We just missed a lot of good, open looks,' said UCA interim head coach Anthony Boone. "Guys that normally make shots didn't make them tonight. We turned the ball over a great deal, especially in the first half. And that's frustrating because that's what we've worked on and that's what we've harped on. We've tried not putting much attention on it, we've tried not putting much attention on it. And it doesn't seem to matter.

"We have to have better carryover and be tougher, and the second half was better. We didn't turn it over nearly as much and we attacked inside and got a lot of looks from the outside because we attacked the paint. We've just got to knock those down.'

The Bears put together one of their worst halves of the season in the opening 20 minutes and dug themselves a 14-point hole _ 35-21 _ at halftime. They also got in foul trouble, with two starters (Rylan Bergersen, Eddy Kayouloud) picking up three fouls before the break.  Junior point guard DeAndre Jones eventually fouled out with 3:21 to play and the Bears in the middle of their scoring run. He exited with  nine points and five rebounds.

Junior center Hayden Koval led the Bears with 19 points and 9 rebounds, hitting 7 of 8 from the free-throw line, all in the second half. Sophomore Eddy Kayouloud added 13 points and 9 rebounds, while junior forward Jared Chatham had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench.

Tyron Brewer led the Lions with 19 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Maxwell Starwood came off the bench with 15 points while Brandon Gonzalez scored 16. Brewer was 5 of 8 from three-point range as the Lions went 9 for 25 from the arc.

The UCA loss makes Saturday's regular-season finale with Northwestern State a near must-win game. The Bears and Demons entered Wednesday's play tied for sixth in the SLC standings with McNeese State. The Demons beat New Orleans 95-73 while McNeese lost 80-56 to Nicholls. The wild card in the mix is Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which beat Sam Houston State on Wednesday to improve to 9-10 and plays at last-place Houston Baptist on Saturday. 

"We told our guys this was a huge game, and we failed,' said Boone. "So we've got to pick up and get ready to work tomorrow and Friday and be ready to play a good game against Northwestern (State). It's a huge game for them, too.'

The Bears will be playing a doubleheader with the Sugar Bears, with tip-off at approximately 3:15 at the Farris Center.