Men's Basketball | 1/25/2016 9:18:00 PM
Box Score HUNTSVILLE – Two game-turning runs by Sam Houston State – one in each half – was more than the ACU Wildcats could overcome Monday night as they dropped their second straight Southland Conference contest, 72-51, to the Bearkats at Johnson Coliseum.
The loss for the Wildcats drops them to 8-12 overall and 3-4 in conference play after back-to-back road losses to Incarnate Word and Sam Houston State. ACU is back in action Saturday at Moody Coliseum when it hosts Lamar at 4 p.m. ACU is 6-2 at home this season with each of its next two games at home: Lamar on Saturday and Houston Baptist on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
Sam Houston turned the game in its favor for good in the final 4:35 of the first half when it closed the half on a 10-2 run to push a seven-point lead (24-17) to a 15-point halftime advantage (34-19). ACU went 0 for 6 from the field with only free throws from
Jovan Crnic to break up the run.
ACU opened the second half by cutting its deficit to 37-26 on a 3-pointer and a jumper by
Jaren Lewis and a steal and layup by
Parker Wentz, getting the Wildcats as close as they had been in some time and giving the team a little spark of momentum. Wentz then hit a 3-pointer with 16:09 to play to cut Sam Houston's lead to 14 points (43-29), keeping ACU in the game.
That's when Sam Houston embarked on the game-changing 16-7 run over the next 10 minutes in which ACU was 0 for 10 from the field with only seven free throws added to its point total. ACU wouldn't hit a shot from the field again until 6:07 left in the game when Wentz buried a jumper. Despite the jumper, Sam Houston's lead was still 24 points (59-35) as the Bearkats improved to 11-10 and 6-2.
However, it was much too late for the Wildcats, who were led by 16 points from Wentz and 14 points and six rebounds from
Duran Porter. ACU was beset by foul trouble, losing leading scorer, freshman guard
Jaylen Franklin, to his fifth foul after just two points and 14 minutes on the floor.
