ABILENE – Even at full strength, the ACU Wildcats would have to have been at their best to beat Sam Houston State. But when battling the flu bug and a record-setting night from the free throw line by the Bearkats, the Wildcats simply didn't have enough in the tank Monday night as the Bearkats knocked off ACU, 84-71, in Southland Conference men's basketball action.
The entire night seemed "off" as the Wildcats hosted the Bearkats in a game played at the Mabee Complex on the Hardin-Simmons University campus because practices for the annual Sing Song production at ACU's Moody Coliseum have taken over the Wildcats' home arena.
Then as fans filed into the gym and saw both teams going through warmpus, they noticed a familiar face missing from the ACU side of the floor as freshman guard
Jaylen Franklin missed the game with the flu. Junior forward
Jovan Crnic gamely fought through his own flu-like symptoms to finish with eight points in 21 minutes, but it wasn't enough to combat a Sam Houston State team that didn't miss the entire night from the free throw line.
The Bearkats hit 22 of 22 shots from the free throw line, tying the conference record for most free throws made without a miss, and posting the best free throw performance in a game this season at the NCAA Division I level. The Bearkats also forced the Wildcats into 14 turnovers and shot 49.1 percent from the floor (28 of 57) en route to their fifth win over ACU since the 2013-14 season.
Sam Houston State – which saw all five starters finish in double figures, led by 18 points from Aurimas Majauskas – ripped off a 22-9 run in the first half to push its lead from 20-16 with 10:22 left to a 42-25 with 2:28 left in the half. ACU managed to cut the lead to 44-35 at halftime, thanks to eight points from its bench, but the Wildcats would never cut the Bearkats' second-half lead lower than nine points.
ACU freshman forward
Jaren Lewis recorded the first double-double of his career with 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while
Isaiah Tripp tied his career high with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting (4 of 5 from 3-point range). Senior guard
Jalen Little had a career-high 19 points as he hit 5 of 8 shots from the field (4 of 7 from 3-point range).
The Wildcats hit 12 of 28 3-point shots, their second-most makes and attempts in a game this season (14 of 30 at Colorado State on Nov. 24). The loss drops the Wildcats to 11-14 overall and 6-6 in the Southland Conference, while the Bearkats improve to 14-12 and 9-4.
ACU will be back in action Thursday at 7 p.m. when it takes on Houston Baptist at Sharp Gym on the HBU campus. The Wildcats will return to Moody Coliseum at 1 p.m. Sunday when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN3.
