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CONWAY, Ark. _ An early first-place battle will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center when the University of Central Arkansas Bears host the Sam Houston State Bearkats in Southland Conference action.

The Bears (3-7) are 2-0 in league play after Wednesday's 83-79 victory over New Orleans. The Bearkats (8-5) also improved to 2-0 with Wednesday's 70-52 win over Southeastern Louisiana. Those two are tied for first place in the SLC with Abilene Christian (10-2, 2-0).

  Preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin and Incarnate Word are right behind at 1-0.

"It will be a big game, and it will be a tough game,' said UCA head coach Anthony Boone. "Sam Houston is really good. I got to see them a couple of times during the non-conference when they were playing on TV. They're good, just like every year. It's going to be a tough, tough game. We're going to have to come with it.'

The Bears have engineered their second consecutive 2-0 Southland start after beating McNeese on the road a week ago. UCA has one of its toughest stretches of the season upcoming against SHSU (third in the preseason poll), SFA next Wednesday on the road and at home versus Nicholls (fourth) next Saturday.

"This conference is going to be like this all season,' said Boone. "Every game is going to be tough, anyone can beat anyone. There won't be any easy games in the Southland this year.'

UCA had turned in consecutive quality performances on the defensive end of the court, holding New Orleans to 38.2-percent shooting and McNeese to 32.1 percent. On the flip side, the Bears shot a season-high 57.4 percent from the field against the Privateers, despite losing senior point guard and second-leading scorer DeAndre Jones to injury in the opening minute of the game. 

Two Bears tied their career scoring highs, with senior guard Rylan Bergersen scoring 25 points and grabbing a career-high 9 rebounds and sophomore Khaleem Bennett scoring 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from the free-throw line.

The Bears will be facing a similar defensive-minded team to New Orleans in the Bearkats, who rank fourth in the SLC in defense, allowing 70.9 points per game, with opponents shooting 41.8 percent. Sam Houston has won five consecutive games, with SLC wins over Nicholls (84-81) on the road and over Southeastern at home. Their first three victories of the season _ and four of their eight _ came against non-Division I teams. Their biggest non-league victories were against Rice (82-69) and UT-Rio Grande Valley (69-66).

UCA is just 3-7 overall but has played one of the toughest schedules in school history, featuring five Power 5 schools, including a stretch of three games in five days against Southeastern Conference teams in Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Bears wrapped up non-conference play at No. 2 Baylor on Dec. 29.

The Bears and Bearkats split their games a year ago. UCA took an 89-82 win at the Farris Center, hitting 10 three-pointers, outrebounding SHSU 47-28 and making 33 of 38 (86.8 percent) at the free-throw line. Point guard Jones had a career-high 33 points, going 6 of 11 from three-point range and 13 of 16 at the free-throw line. Bergersen added 21 points and 7 rebounds.

Sam Houston beat UCA 82-67 in the second meeting in Huntsville, Texas, with Kai Mitchell tallying 30 points.