HOUSTON – ACU outscored Houston Baptist 15-6 in the final 3:28 of the game Wednesday night as the Wildcats rallied for an 82-74 win over the Huskies to claim their first win ever at Sharp Gym.
The duo of center
Jalone Friday and guard
Jaylen Franklin sparked the Wildcats as they finished with 23 and 22 points, respectively. For Franklin, his 22 points were a season-high, while Friday rebounded from a seven-point effort last in last Saturday's loss vs. Southeastern Louisiana to post his second-highest scoring game of the season.
Houston native
Drake Green was huge off the bench as he buried 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range on his way to 11 points. Junior forward
Jaren Lewis -- who missed the final 13 minutes last Saturday vs. the Lions with a right ankle sprain -- showed no ill effects from the injury as he finished with 16 points and six board to go along with three assists, two blocks and three steals in 34 minutes.
TURNING POINT
ACU led by as many as 11 points in the first half before HBU rallied to take a 37-36 lead at the break. The Huskies then led by as many as six points on several occasions in the second half before ACU rallied late to pull out its first win in four all-time games at Sharp Gym.
The Huskies led 63-58 with 6:40 to play after a 3-pointer by Jalon Gates before Franklin was fouled on a drive to the basket on the other end. He buried both free throws to cut the deficit to 63-60 before Green dropped in a 3-pointer to knot the score at 63 apiece with 5:53 left.ACU re-gained the lead at 64-63 on a free throw by Lewis with 4:48 to play before David Caraher hit a layup to put the Huskies back in front by one. Friday responded with a 3-pointer to give ACU a 67-65 lead, only to see Ian Dubose bury a corner 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 68-67 lead with 3:40 left in the game.
The Wildcats took the lead for good at 70-68 on a three-point play by Friday with 3:28 to play in the game. Franklin then fouled DuBose on a drive, but he missed both free throws and Lewis grabbed the rebound. Franklin pushed the ball up the floor and hit a layup and hit a free throw for a three-point play and a 73-68 ACU lead with 2:46 left.
Lewis hit a huge bucket after grabbing a loose ball and putting it in late in the shot clock to give ACU a 78-73 lead with 56 second to play, and then
Hayden Farquhar scored on a layup with 24 seconds left to put ACU up 80-74.
Tevin Foster then buried a pair of free throws with nine seconds left to seal the win.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The Wildcats committed just two turnovers in the contest, including just two in the second half. ACU leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and that should continue as the Wildcats also had 18 assists on their 30 field goals.
• ACU's eight-point win over the Huskies is the largest margin of either win or defeat by the Wildcats in five conference games this season. Prior to Wednesday night, each of the Wildcats' first four Southland games had been decided by five points or less.
• The Wildcats finished the game on a 24-11 run to pull out the win over the Huskies, a run that saw the Wildcats hit 9 of their last 14 shots from the field.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will continue their road trip Saturday in Natchitoches, La., when they take on Northwestern State at 3 p.m. in Prather Coliseum. The game can be heard on 98.1 FM The Ticket.
