NEW ORLEANS, La. – In a game full of tide-turning runs, it was New Orleans that had the last burst and it was enough to lead the Privateers to a 77-74 win over ACU in Thursday night's Southland Conference-opener for both teams at Lakefront Arena.
UNO had runs of 8-0, 10-0, 8-0, 9-0 and 4-0, while ACU countered with a pair of 9-0 bursts in a game that came down to the final seconds. ACU – which trailed by eight points with 2:14 left in the game – rallied behind Tevin Foster to take a 74-73 lead with 26 seconds to play before the Privateers scored the final four points of the game on two free throws by Travin Thibodeaux and a dunk by Makur Puou after a questionable non-call on a Foster drive to the bucket with his team down by one point.
The Privateers – the defending league champion who improved to 4-8 overall and 1-0 in the league with their first win over an NCAA Division I opponent this season – had a sizable advantage at the free throw line Thursday night, hitting 33 of 47 attempts compared to ACU's 18 for 25 effort at the line.
Foster was terrific for the Wildcats, scoring a career and game-high 25 points, while also dishing out five assists and coming up with four steals. Jaren Lewis had his eighth career double-double (third this season) with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Jalone Friday had 12 points, although nine of them came in the first half and the other came on a 3-pointer early in the second half.
Thibodeaux had 20 points for New Orleans, followed by 16 from Puou and 14 from freshman guard Troy Green.
TURNING POINT
ACU trailed by as many as eight points in the second half (54-46) and still trailed 57-52 with 8:42 left before Kolton Kohl hit three straight free throws to cut the UNO lead to 57-55 with 7:37 to play. A three-point play by Diontae Champion, however, pushed the lead back to 60-55 with 7:21 left before Isaiah Tripp buried a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to 60-58 with 7:03 to play.
Foster gave ACU a 61-60 lead on its next possession with a 3-pointer the last time the Wildcats would lead in the game. UNO answered with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 69-61 lead with 4:11 left, a run that was capped by two free throws from Thibodeaux.
But Lewis hit a jumper in the lane and then two free throws to cut it to 71-65 with 2:30 to play. Thibodeaux responded with two free throws at the 2:15 mark to make it 73-65. But Foster hit four straight free throws followed by a 3-pointer and two more free throws over the next 1:42 – a personal 9-0 run – to give the Wildcats a 74-73 lead with 26 seconds to play.
With 17 seconds to play, Friday fouled out and Thibodeaux hit two more free throws to give the Privateers a 75-74 lead. ACU inbounded the ball and Foster drove the right side of the line and was bumped to the ground as he flipped a shot toward the goal. The ball fell short and no foul was called and Bryson Robinson grabbed the rebound and flung the ball ahead to Puou, who flushed a dunk to give the Privateers a 77-74 lead.
Foster had an off-balance 3-point attempt fall just short at the buzzer and the Privateers walked away with a three-point win.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
• ACU junior point guard Jaylen Franklin failed to score for the first time in his career (68 games) last Friday in the Wildcats' loss at No. 21 Texas Tech. He responded to that scoreless game with nine first-half points Thursday night against the Privateers.
• The Privateers' 47 free throw attempts were more than double their per-game average entering the game (19.5) and their 33 makes more than doubled their per-game average entering the game (13). The 47 attempts were the ninth-most by one team in a men's NCAA Division I game this season.
• In three of their last four games – all road games – the Wildcats are 34 of 43 from the free throw line while their opponents are a staggering 74 of 108.
THEY SAID IT
ACU head coach Joe Golding on the win …
"I was proud of the way we fought back after being down 69-61 to give ourselves a chance to win. A lot of guys did good things tonight, but it wasn't enough. The bottom line is that we've got a quick turnaround and we've got to re-group and protect our home floor Saturday against Sam Houston State."
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will open the home portion of the Southland Conference schedule Saturday evening with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Sam Houston State at Moody Coliseum. That game is the first of three straight home Southland Conference contests for the Wildcats, who will also welcome in McNeese (Jan. 3) and Southeastern Louisiana (Jan. 6) on the homestand…
