The University of Central Arkansas Bears men’s basketball team will face the University of North Alabama Lions on Wednesday at the Farris Center. The game, which starts at 6:30 p.m., marks the first meeting between these two teams this season. Their originally scheduled match-up on January 24 was postponed due to a winter storm and is now set for February 9.
Last season, the Lions won both games against the Bears by a combined margin of 52 points and currently hold a 5-3 record over Central Arkansas in recent years. However, this season has seen different trajectories for both programs. The Bears have secured five consecutive victories and are now second in the ASUN standings with a conference record of 7-2. In contrast, North Alabama has lost four out of its last five games and sits at the bottom of the conference with a 2-7 record.
Central Arkansas recently defeated Eastern Kentucky by nine points at home, avenging an earlier overtime loss to EKU in Kentucky. The win improved their home record to 10-1 this season, with their only defeat coming in an overtime contest against Samford in November. Since then, they have won nine straight games at home by an average margin of nearly 24 points per game.
Camren Hunter led the Bears with back-to-back high-scoring performances—32 points against EKU after scoring 31 at Queens—which earned him ASUN Player of the Week honors. So far in conference play, Central Arkansas averages 85 points per game while shooting 48% from the field, including nearly 37% from three-point range and making 74% of free throws.
North Alabama enters Wednesday’s game following its first win in five outings—a narrow victory over Stetson on the road. Both their ASUN wins have come away from home. Canin Jefferson leads them offensively with an average of 15 points per conference game; Donte Bacchus contributes over 14 points and five rebounds; Corneilous Williams adds more than thirteen points and eight rebounds per contest. As a team during ASUN play, they are averaging just over seventy-one points per game while shooting forty-six percent overall but only thirty percent from beyond the arc.
Tip-off is scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Farris Center and is sponsored by The EDGE. Fans can watch live coverage on ESPN+ or listen via The Bear 91.3 or Jack 92.7 radio stations; live stats will also be available online.
