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Contributed by: ACU Athletic Media Relations
ABILENE - ACU played one of its best offensive games of the season Sunday afternoon, and it couldn't have come at a better time as the Wildcats were able to snap a two-game losing streak with a 91-80 win over Southeastern Louisiana at Moody Coliseum.
The win keeps ACU perfect on its home floor in Southland Conference games (5-0) and pushes its record to 12-15 overall and 7-7 in the Southland, while Southeastern - which beat ACU 81-60 just 15 days ago in Hammond, La. - falls to 7-19 and 5-8. ACU will be back in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it takes on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Wildcats had five players in double figures, hit 54 percent of their shots from the floor (27 of 50), including 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8 of 19) and buried 29 of 34 free throws, including 26 of 31 in the second half. That second-half performance from the free throw line was important as the Wildcats were able to maintain their lead over the Lions, never letting their advantage slip below five points (68-63).
It was the type of performance the Wildcats and head coach Joe Golding were looking for while trying to shake off back-to-back losses last week to Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist and playing in front of a national audience on ESPN3. The Wildcats' seventh conference win of the season is one more than they had won in their first two seasons, combined in the Southland Conference.
"It wasn't pretty at times, but that's what college basketball is about this time of year," Golding said. "You had two teams fighting and scratching and clawing for everything they got out there (Sunday). We obviously can't go to the tournament (because ACU is in transition to NCAA Division I affiliation) and Southeastern is trying to make it into the field for the conference tournament. Both of us want to finish this season on a positive note.
"We were very good offensively, but we struggled on the defensive end at times," he said. "Their guards are so good at penetrating into the lane and getting easy baskets, and we had a tough time stopping that. But I was proud of the effort of my guys, and I was proud of the way they stepped up and knocked down free throws in the second half and especially down the stretch."
The Wildcats shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first half (18 of 31) as they took a 44-33 lead behind a balanced scoring attack led by seven points from freshman Hayden Howell, who got his second straight start and scored the Wildcats' first seven points of the game.
ACU spent the game's final 20 minutes fending off a couple of spurts by the Lions, who cut a 13-point ACU lead to seven points (61-54) with 9:38 to play, and then cut a nine-point lead to five points (68-63) with 6:29 left in the game.
The next three offensive series were huge for the Wildcats as they got a 3-pointer from Parker Wentz, a layup from Duran Porter and a layup from Jalen Little, all as the shot clock was expiring, helping ACU push its lead back to 75-66 with 4:49 to play. Then Isaiah Tripp hit a layup and buried a 3-pointer with 3:38 to push ACU's lead to 80-69.
Jaylen Franklin (6 of 8), Parker Wentz (2 of 2), Tripp (1 of 2), and Jaren Lewis (2 of 2) combined to 11 of 14 free throws in the final 2:37 to finish off the Lions.
Franklin scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, while senior Austin Cooke played his best game of the season, scoring 14 points and pulling down four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. Cooke hit a pair of 3-pointers and was 8 for 8 from the free throw line.
Little finished with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals as he scored in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games after scoring in double figures just once in his ACU career prior to this stretch. Porter finished with 10 points and a pair of rebounds, while Lewis came off the bench for another solid outing with 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in 23 minutes.
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ABILENE - ACU played one of its best offensive games of the season Sunday afternoon, and it couldn't have come at a better time as the Wildcats were able to snap a two-game losing streak with a 91-80 win over Southeastern Louisiana at Moody Coliseum.
The win keeps ACU perfect on its home floor in Southland Conference games (5-0) and pushes its record to 12-15 overall and 7-7 in the Southland, while Southeastern - which beat ACU 81-60 just 15 days ago in Hammond, La. - falls to 7-19 and 5-8. ACU will be back in action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when it takes on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Wildcats had five players in double figures, hit 54 percent of their shots from the floor (27 of 50), including 42.1 percent from 3-point range (8 of 19) and buried 29 of 34 free throws, including 26 of 31 in the second half. That second-half performance from the free throw line was important as the Wildcats were able to maintain their lead over the Lions, never letting their advantage slip below five points (68-63).
It was the type of performance the Wildcats and head coach Joe Golding were looking for while trying to shake off back-to-back losses last week to Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist and playing in front of a national audience on ESPN3. The Wildcats' seventh conference win of the season is one more than they had won in their first two seasons, combined in the Southland Conference.
"It wasn't pretty at times, but that's what college basketball is about this time of year," Golding said. "You had two teams fighting and scratching and clawing for everything they got out there (Sunday). We obviously can't go to the tournament (because ACU is in transition to NCAA Division I affiliation) and Southeastern is trying to make it into the field for the conference tournament. Both of us want to finish this season on a positive note.
"We were very good offensively, but we struggled on the defensive end at times," he said. "Their guards are so good at penetrating into the lane and getting easy baskets, and we had a tough time stopping that. But I was proud of the effort of my guys, and I was proud of the way they stepped up and knocked down free throws in the second half and especially down the stretch."
The Wildcats shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first half (18 of 31) as they took a 44-33 lead behind a balanced scoring attack led by seven points from freshman Hayden Howell, who got his second straight start and scored the Wildcats' first seven points of the game.
ACU spent the game's final 20 minutes fending off a couple of spurts by the Lions, who cut a 13-point ACU lead to seven points (61-54) with 9:38 to play, and then cut a nine-point lead to five points (68-63) with 6:29 left in the game.
The next three offensive series were huge for the Wildcats as they got a 3-pointer from Parker Wentz, a layup from Duran Porter and a layup from Jalen Little, all as the shot clock was expiring, helping ACU push its lead back to 75-66 with 4:49 to play. Then Isaiah Tripp hit a layup and buried a 3-pointer with 3:38 to push ACU's lead to 80-69.
Jaylen Franklin (6 of 8), Parker Wentz (2 of 2), Tripp (1 of 2), and Jaren Lewis (2 of 2) combined to 11 of 14 free throws in the final 2:37 to finish off the Lions.
Franklin scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, while senior Austin Cooke played his best game of the season, scoring 14 points and pulling down four rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. Cooke hit a pair of 3-pointers and was 8 for 8 from the free throw line.
Little finished with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals as he scored in double figures for the fifth time in the last six games after scoring in double figures just once in his ACU career prior to this stretch. Porter finished with 10 points and a pair of rebounds, while Lewis came off the bench for another solid outing with 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal in 23 minutes.
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