PORTALES, N.M. -- Ean Wagner buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left in overtime and redshirt freshman Ben Warton came off the bench with two huge rebounds and two free throws in the final 90 seconds Wednesday night as ACU snapped a six-game losing streak wtih a 71-65 overtime victory over Eastern New Mexico in a Lone Star Conference South Division game at Greyhound Arena.
The short-handed Wildcats -- who didn't even take Riley Lambert or Milos Kilmovic on the trip because of injuries -- improved to 9-16 overall and 3-8 in the LSC South. ENMU, meanwhile, finished its season at 4-22 and 0-12, its second straight winless season in the LSC South.
Things got even worse for the injury-ravaged Wildcats when leading scorer Dejan Sencanski crumpled to the floor with 11:04 left in the first half with severe back spasms. The senior from Serbia didn't return, leaving the Wildcats with just eight healthy bodies.
But Wagner came up huge with a career-high 26 points as he hit 8 of 22 shots from the field, including 5 of 14 from 3-point range.
None of those shots was bigger than his 3-pointer with 50 seconds left that gave the Wildcats a 67-65 lead with 50 seconds to play. The ACU offensive possession was set up by a huge defensive rebound by Warton with 1:14 to play in overtime. Warton was in the game after Dante Adams fouled out early in overtime, leaving the Wildcats with just seven players.
On its next possession after the Wagner 3-pointer, ENMU had an easy shot at the game-tying bucket, but Egus Darby missed a short jumper. In the scramble for the rebound, Warton was fouled by Jimmie Marshall, sending the ACU reserve to the free throw line for the two biggest free throws of his young career.
Warton calmly sank both free throws to give ACU a 69-65 lead with 12 seconds to play. After a turnover by Justin Reynolds with seven seconds left, Wagner was fouled and he sank both free throws for the final margin.
The lead in Wednesday night's game changed 11 times, and ACU had to battle back from an 11-point first-half deficit that came at the same time Sencanski left the game. ACU, though, was able to battle back to cut its halftime deficit to just 38-36.
ACU led 61-58 with 1:10 left in regulation after Wagner hit a driving layup, only to see the Greyhounds tie the game at 61-61 with 46 seconds to play on a 3-pointer by Marshall. Wagner missed a 3-pointer and Kendrick Johnson missed a follow jumper with eight seconds to play in regulation as the game went to overtime.
Cam Holson had 13 points and eight rebounds in the game, while Adams had 14 points. Johnson had five points and seven rebounds, while Warton finished with six pointts and three rebounds.
