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CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will be facing their second consecutive first-place ASUN team on Wednesday night when they host the Bellarmine Knights on Scottie Pippen Court at the Farris Center.

The first challenge went rather well for the Bears, who knocked off then solo first-place Jacksonville State 72-62 on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Ala. That dropped the Gamecocks into a tie for first in the West Division with the Knights, who will be making their first trip to Conway.

The Knights (15-11, 9-3) are 2-2 in their last four games, with wins at North Florida and North Alabama, coupled with home losses to Kennesaw State and Liberty. Bellarmine beat UCA 85-63 in the first meeting at Freedom Hall on Jan. 11, shooting a blistering 63.2 percent from the field for the game and holding UCA to just 24 points in the first half.

Senior guard Dylan Penn did most of the damage with a career-high 38 points, hitting 18 of 22 field goal attempts. Penn was the only Knight in double figures, while UCA had three, led by sophomore guard Collin Cooper with 15 points. UCA shot a respectable 47 percent from the field and connected on eight three-pointers but made 12 less field goals than the home team.

UCA (8-16, 5-6) avenged one earlier ASUN loss by beating the Gamecocks by 10 on their home floor Saturday, after dropping an 86-81 decision at the Farris Center back in January. The Bears did it with solid defense, holding one of the ASUN's top offenses to 41 percent shooting and a 23-point first half. UCA's freshman point guard Camren Hunter earned his third conference Newcomer of the Week award after a 21-point effort that included 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

Three other Bears finished in double figures, with graduate Jared Chatham scoring 16, junior Darious Hall 13 and junior Eddy Kayouloud 11. UCA made just five three-pointers (22.7 percent) but went 9 of 10 at the free-throw line and handed out 18 assists against just 12 turnovers. The Bears forced the Gamecocks into 18 turnovers.

The matchup with Bellarmine is the firrst of three consecutive home games for the Bears, the final three regular-season games at the Farris Center this season. UCA, in third place in the West Division, also hosts Eastern Kentucky on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the Sugar Bears, and Liberty on Monday night in a makeup game from January.

UCA then finishes its first season in the ASUN with road games at North Alabama next Wednesday and Lipscomb on Saturday afternoon.