ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats are back in Moody Coliseum Saturday afternoon for a Southland Conference matchup against Northwestern State on Play 4 Rex Foundation Day at the coliseum.
Both men's teams – as well as both women's teams in the earlier afternoon game – will be wearing specially made P4X warm-up shirts for the game. The
P4X Foundation was founded by ACU associate director of athletics
Lance Fleming and his wife, Jill, after their 10-year-old son, Rex, passed away in November 2012 after a two-year battle against brain cancer. The foundation raises money to aid families in the Big Country who are dealing with pediatric cancer.
Rex was a patient at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, from November 2010 through November 2012 during his courageous battle with an aggressive tumor near the center of his brain. Rex was eight years old when he was diagnosed with Grade 3 Glioma Astrocytoma, and over the next two years he underwent two surgeries in addition to dozens of radiation and bi-monthly chemotherapy treatments.
Since Rex's passing in 2012, the foundation has become a resource of help—financially and in other ways—for pediatric cancer patients and their families who are struggling with life-altering diseases, similar to the Flemings. One of the Flemings' goals is to have "Play 4 Rex" become a symbol for living a life with passion, with purpose and with love, much like Rex lived his life.
Net proceeds from tomorrow's gate will go to the foundation, and for those who can't make it to the doubleheader, both games will air locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket. There's also a live stats option plus video stream.
Grant Boone will have the play-by-play for both games.
The ACU men are 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the Southland Conference after Thursday night's 84-73 loss at Central Arkansas. The Wildcats trailed by nine at halftime, but outscored the Bears 14-6 in the first five minute of the second half to tie the game at 43-43. The Bears, however, reeled off a 16-6 run to take a 10-point lead and never led by less than eight points the rest of the way on their way to a season sweep of the Wildcats.
ACU is led by sophomore forward
Jaren Lewis, who is averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, both of which lead the team. Redshirt freshman center
Jalone Friday is averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard
Jaylen Franklin – playing more and more like the reigning Freshman of the Year – is averaging 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Franklin had seven more assists in the game against Central Arkansas to give him 60 in 12 conference games (5.0 per game). He's averaging 4.1 assists per game on the season, which ranks seventh in the league. His 5.0 assists per game in conference play ranks fourth in the league.
The Demons enter Saturday's game at 9-13 and 3-8 after dropping an 86-69 decision to Houston Baptist Thursday night in Natchitoches, La. The Demons have lost four straight entering the game against ACU, but four of their eight league losses are in games settled in the last minute or overtime.
Northwestern State is led by senior Sabri Thompson, who is averaging 13.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Devote Hall is averaging 10.7 and 2.6 rebounds per contest. The Demons have played all season without senior guard Jalan West, who suffered a season-ending knee injury for the second straight season in pre-season workouts, ending his collegiate career. They've also played without leading scorer Zeek Woodley since late December after he suffered a broken wrist in a loss at Rice. He should be back in the lineup sometime next week, and he is just 70 points away from becoming the program's all-time leading scorer.
