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CONWAY, Ark._ The University of Central Arkansas will welcome three teams to the Farris Center this weekend for the Central Arkansas Classic, including one old familiar foe.

    The Bears will face the Northwestern State Demons at 5:30 Saturday in Game 2 of the tournament. Idaho State and Bethune-Cookman will open at 3 p.m. Sunday's schedule as Bethune-Cookman facing Northwestern State at 1 p.m., followed by UCA and Idaho State at 3:30.

    The Bears (3-2) and Demons (3-2) are old Southland Conference foes who last played in 2021. Saturday's meeting will be the 32nd in the series, with the majority of those coming in conference play from 2007-2021 before UCA moved to the ASUN last season.

    The Bears have had seven days to rest and recuperate after their two-game trip to Dublin, Ireland, last week for the ASUN/MAAC Challenge. UCA lost its opening game 73-64 to Niagara last Friday, but rebounded with a 90-85 victory over Rider on Saturday. In the win, the Bears connected on 11 three-pointers, including three each from junior Masai Olowokere and sophomore Camren Hunter.

    After shooting just 35.9 percent against Niagara, the Bears found their range and shot 52.8 percent against Rider, going 11 of 25 (44 percent) from beyond the arc. Hunter, from Bryant, Ark., scored a career-high 28 points, going 10 of 16 overall, 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line.

    Hunter was one of four Bears in double figures, with senior Eddy Kayouloud scoring 16, Olowokere 15 and freshman guard Johannes Kirsipuu 14, including 9 of 10 at the free-throw line.
    
    Hunter leads the Bears in scoring at 18 points per game, while Olowokere is the top rebounder at 7.2 per game.

    The Demons, under first-year head coach Corey Gipson, have won two consecutive games, including a big upset of No. 15 TCU (64-63) on Nov. 14. NSU also beat Illinois State 70-67 in its last game on Thursday, Nov. 17. The Demons' other victory was over NCAA Division II Ouachita Baptist, along with a loss at No. 24 Texas Tech.

    Demarcus Sharp is the Demons' top scorer at 12.6 points per game, including 23 points in the last game against Illinois State. Isaac Henry pulls down a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game for NSU. Jordan Wilmore, a 7-foot-3, 310-pound transfer from Missouri, starts at center for NSU.