Men's Basketball | 1/3/2015 6:32:00 PM
ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats open Southland Conference play Sunday when they host winless Central Arkansas at 3 p.m at Moody Coliseum. The game is the conference-opener for the Bears as well as the Wildcats.
The Wildcats are 6-7 overall after going 2-3 on their latest road trip to Chicago, Boise, Idaho, Las Vegas and Phoenix. ACU was 2-2 on the trip before dropping a narrow 83-81 decision last Sunday at Grand Canyon in the Wildcats' final game before conference play starts. Sunday's game against Central Arkansas will be broadcast on Abilene's
102.7 FM and via the
GameCentral links on
acusports.com.
The ACU-Central Arkansas women's game is set for a 1 p.m. tipoff and fans are encouraged to bring a church bulletin with them for admission. One bulletin will allow a family or individual entrance into the games.
ACU is 4-1 at home this season with three straight home victories at Moody Coliseum, including a Dec. 4 win over Sacramento State (72-61) and Northern New Mexico on Dec. 13 (76-48). Central Arkansas, meanwhile, is 0-11 on the season, including 0-7 on the road. The Bears have lost their 12 straight road games dating back to last season with their last road win coming in a 76-75 win at McNeese State on Feb. 1, 2014. The Bears finished 1-13 on the road last season meaning they've lost 20 of their last 21 road contests.
The Wildcats are led by a trio of players averaging in double figures, led by junior shooting guard
Parker Wentz, who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Senior guards
Harrison Hawkins (11.3 ppg) and
LaDarrien Williams (10.8 ppg) are the only other two Wildcats averaging in double figures in points per game. Junior forward
Austin Cooke is averaging 8.5 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest for the Wildcats.
The Bears, meanwhile, are also led by three players averaging in double figures: Jordan Howard (15.4 ppg), Jake Zuihof (10.2 ppg) and Mike Martin (10.2 ppg). The Bears have been outscored by an average of 83-64 this season with their closest loss a six-point loss against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 22.
First-year head coach Russ Pannell has perhaps the youngest roster in the league with seven freshmen, one sophomore and three juniors on the 11-man squad, and there are no players back from last year's team that finished 8-21 overall and 5-13 in Southland Conference play.
