THIBODAUX, La. – Just one week after opening Southland Conference play with a dramatic one-point win at Central Arkansas, the ACU Wildcats found themselves in another tight contest Saturday afternoon against the Nicholls Colonels at Stopher Gym.
But unlike last week when the Wildcats found a way to win a one-point game, Saturday it was the Colonels who held on for a win, taking a 63-62 win over the Wildcats.
Last week against the Bears the Wildcats lost almost all of a 14-point second-half lead before hitting a couple of free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 62-61 win. Saturday it was the Colonels who blew a big second-half lead as the Wildcats stormed back from a 50-33 deficit with 13:07 to play to actually take a 62-61 lead on a layup by freshman forward
Jaren Lewis with 2:23 to play.
But Jonathan Bell hit a driving layup with 1:55 to play to give the Colonels the lead right back, points that would turn out to be the final two scored in the game. Lewis missed a 3-pointer for ACU with 1:21 to play, but
Duran Porter – who recorded his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds – grabbed the offensive rebound.
Ja'Dante' Frye, however, took the ball away from Porter and gave the ball up to Carpenter, who drove the rest of the way before being whistled for a charge as he ran over
Parker Wentz, whose second-half shooting was the reason the Wildcats were even in the game.
Porter missed a jumper with 51 seconds left on the offensive end before grabbing a defensive rebound on the other end with 20 seconds left after Shane Rillieux missed a layup. On the offensive end, freshman guard
Jaylen Franklin had the ball in his hands in the final seconds and he did what he did best: get into the lane for a short jumper or layup.
He got the game's final shot off with six seconds left and it appeared as if it would roll in. But it banged off the glass and rolled off the rim and out and Johnathan Bell grabbed the defensive rebound and ran out the clock on a 63-62 Nicholls victory.
"We got the shot we wanted," ACU head coach
Joe Golding said. "He got it to the rim and got a good look. We just missed the shot."
The Wildcats – who had another rough first half with just 20 points on 8 of 29 shooting from the field, including 0 for 8 from 3-point range – trailed 29-20 at halftime and saw the Colonels quickly stretch the lead to double figures. Nicholls, in fact, led the game 50-33, 13:07 to play after a 3-pointer by Marquis Nelson.
But Wentz – who was scoreless in the first half – drilled a 3-pointer with 12:34 left in the game to make it 50-36, kick-starting the Wildcats' comeback. Wentz had five 3-pointers in a span of 9:21 to spur a 27-10 run and get the game tied 60-60 with 3:13 to play. Wentz, who had missed seven straight 3-point attempts, was 5 for 6 from beyond the arc in ACU's run to get the game tied.
"We did a good job finding him and he made some shots to get us back into the game," Golding said. "He's a senior and he's going to keep shooting because he knows that's what we need him to do."
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Wentz didn't get another shot off in the final 3:12 of the game as the Colonels were able to get the points they needed to pull of the win.
ACU probably lost Saturday's game in the first 20 minutes when the Wildcats played a sloppy first half. The Wildcats hit just 8 of 29 shots from the field, were 0 for 8 from 3-point range, turned the ball over eight times and were out-rebounded 19-14 by the Colonels.
The Wildcats led 12-11 before the Colonels outscored them 18-8 over the final 10:55 of the half to carry a 29-20 lead into halftime. It was the second time in as many visits to Thibodaux that the Wildcats have lost to the Colonels.
"The first half was bad," Golding said. "I don't know what our problem was in the first half and the first 8-10 minutes of the second half, but we've got to get it figured out. We've got a good Northwestern State team coming to our place Tuesday night and they'll be ready to play. We'd better be ready to go."
Wentz led all scorers with 17 points – all in the second half – while Franklin had 14 and Lewis and Porter 12 apiece.
The Wildcats are now 6-9 overall and 1-1 in league play and will host Northwestern State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Moody Coliseum.
