CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears needed a victory or some help from another team Saturday to earn a berth in the 2020 Southland Conference Tournament.

The Bears did not get either as they fell 100-85 to Northwestern State in their regular-season finale on Senior Day at the Farris Center. UCA finished the season 10-21 overall and 9-11 in SLC play. UCA lost its final three games of the season to finish in ninth place in the standings, just missing out on the eighth and final spot which would have earned them their fourth consecutive tournament appearance.

Northwestern State, which UCA beat 79-71 in the first meeting last month in Natchitoches, La., hit 14 three-pointers Saturday, including five by guard Jairus Roberson and three each from Trenton Massner and Nikos Chougkaz. UCA had double figures as well, going 11 for 34 from beyond the arc. But the Demons outrebounded UCA 45-29 and also made 26 of 30 (86.7 percent) at the free-throw line. UCA was 12 of 15 on free throws.

"That's been Northwestern State's emphasis the last couple of games, to very much make it and up-and-down game,' said UCA interim head coach Anthony Boone. "They run down the floor and shoot the ball, and those guys played pretty loose and pretty free. And we just couldn't keep up with them. In the first half they made a lot of tough shots that we were OK with. There percentage overall wasn't that great. 

"They got us on the glass pretty good, but we just couldn't keep up with them, that was the bottom line.'

Junior transfer Rylan Bergersen capped his first season at UCA with 25 points, hitting four three-pointers. Sophomore Eddy Kayouloud added 19 points while junior center Hayden Koval had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Junior point guard DeAndre Jones scored 14 points and dished out a game-high nine assists.

Two seniors, forward Aaron Weidenaar and center Brandon Vanover, closed out their UCA careers Saturday. Weidenaar, from Bozeman, Mont., was in the starting lineup in his 110 career game and finished his career with 308 points and 75 three-pointers. Vanover, from Little Rock, closed out his career by playing in his 20th game.

"(After the game) we talked about Brandon and Aaron and how great those guys have been,' said Boone, who was coaching his 22nd game as UCA's interim coach after head coach Russ Pennell left the program in December. "They've both been really dedicated. Aaron's gone through a lot (with injuries) and came out with a great senior season. And Brandon coming to work everyday, even though there was not much promise for him to get in the game. He gave his best and he pushed those guys around in practice and made those guys better.

"Both of those guys are special. We celebrated them.'

Boone also said he thanked the Bears for their efforts over the last few trying months.

"We just addressed that we're thankful for being here,' said Boone, who has been with the program for six years. "I'm thankful for those guys and the staff and how they stayed together. A lot of times in this kind of situation, teams will splinter and staffs will splinter because everyone will have their own agendas. But we all came together as one, rowing the boat the same way. 

"Whether I deserve to have their attention like that, I just told them I'm thankful for that because they could have easily gone their own ways.'