Pierson's jumper sinks Javs
2/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Pierson's jumper sinks Javelinas
Wildcats pull into fourth-place tie with ASU in LSC South
ABILENE -- Tucker Pierson put an end to a see-saw affair Thursday night when his jumper with 1.8 seconds to play gave ACU a 76-74 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville in a key Lone Star Conference South Division game at Moody Coliseum.
The win, which snapped a two-game Wildcat losing streak, pushes ACU to 12-10 overall and into a fourth-place tie with Angelo State in the LSC South at 3-5. The Wildcats will return to action Saturday at 4 p.m. when they host Texas A&M-Commerce at Moody Coliseum. The Lions fell at Angelo State Thursday night, falling out of first place in the LSC South.
ACU and Kingsville battled back and forth over the final 10 minutes of the game with each team taking and giving away leads. The Javelinas grabbed a 72-71 lead with 2:18 left when Williams Brown drilled a 3-pointer following a Drexel Johnson turnover.
After back-to-back missed shots by Cliff Green and Rodney Lee, ACU got the game tied with 1:20 to play when Pierson hit one of two free throws after he was fouled going after an offensive rebound.
The Wildcats regained the lead at 74-72 with 50 seconds left when Pierson converted a layup after a steal by Johnson. The Javelinas, though, raced back downcourt and tied the score at 74-74 on a Brown bucket with 34 seconds to play.
ACU was able to play for the last shot, and, after a Green driving layup was swatted out of bounds, the Wildcats set up for the last shot with seven seconds left. Green inbounded the ball to Pierson who spun and banked in a lunging jumper with 1.8 seconds left.
Pierson then stole the inbounds pass to seal the Wildcats' 12th win of the year, only one short of their combined win total from the two previous seasons.
Green had one of his best games of the season, penetrating the lane for 20 points, most of them on driving layups, while handing out nine assists and collecting seven rebounds. Pierson led all scorers wtih 22 points and nine rebounds, while Calvin Nite had 13 points. Nite, however, left the game late in the second half with what appeared to be a seriously sprained left ankle.
