Wildcats put 2-0 mark on line against run-and-gun Demons

Men's Basketball | 1/12/2015 4:02:00 PM

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NATCHITOCHES, La. – The ACU men's basketball team hits the road for the first time during conference play as they take on high-scoring Northwestern State in a Southland Conference matchup Tuesday night at Prather Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game can be heard locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket or on the internet at www.the98x.com.  Fans can watch the game on Northwestern State's Web site at www.nsudemons.com.

The Wildcats enter the game at 2-0 in Southland Conference play and tied for second place in the league after last Saturday's 71-54 home win over Nicholls. The Wildcats began conference play with an 87-70 win over winless Central Arkansas on Sunday, Jan. 4. At 8-7 overall, the Wildcats have won four of their last five games and are above the .500 mark this late in the season for the time since the 2007-08 ended on March 7, 2008, with the Wildcats at 20-9.

The Demons, meanwhile, carry a 7-7 overall record and 2-1 conference mark into Tuesday night's game. They have won three of their last four contests, including a 103-101 comeback win over Incarnate Word. The Demons rallied from a 98-93 deficit in the final 82 seconds to win the game as Jalan West – announced Monday as the league's Player of the Week – was 6 of 6 from the free throw line down the stretch before Devonte Hall hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Demons a 103-101 victory.

The Demons are led by the 1-2 scoring punch of Zeek Woodley and West. Woodley is averaging 22.3 points per game and is shooting 56.8 percent from the field (113 of 199), while West – perhaps the league's most electrifying player – is averaging 17.4 ppg while dishing out 7.6 assists per game, a number that leads the country.

ACU will have to get ready for a different style than its seen in its first two conference games as both Central Arkansas and Nicholls played a more deliberate style offensively, while the Demons will be up and down the floor. Northwestern State is second in the league in scoring offense at 82.4 ppg (UIW leads the league at 84.1 ppg), while ACU is ninth at 68.3 ppg.

The Wildcats, though, are fourth in the league in scoring defense at 69.1 ppg, while Northwestern State is last in the league in scoring defense, allowing 84.4 ppg.

ACU junior guard Parker Wentz leads the Wildcats in scoring and is 12th in the league at 13.4 ppg, while senior guard Harrison Hawkins is 16th in the league at 12.6 ppg. Since moving back into the starting lineup five games ago, Hawkins is averaging 19.0 ppg and the Wildcats are 4-1 in that stretch.

Wentz is second in the league in 3-point field goals made (36), second in attempts (80) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (.450).

After Tuesday night's game, the Wildcats are off until Saturday at 11 a.m. when they host Stephen F. Austin in the first nationally televised game from Moody Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with ACU's own Grant Boone calling the play-by-play and Basketball Hall of Fame member Van Chancellor in the analyst role.