Wildcats back on the road for matchup against Islanders

CORPUS CHRISTI — ACU closes out the first half of Southland Conference play Wednesday night against one of two teams it has never beaten as a member of the league.

ACU is 0-7 all-time against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but will have a chance to put its first win on the board against the Islanders when the teams meet at 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center in downtown Corpus Christi. The only other team ACU has never beaten while a member of the Southland Conference is Incarnate Word, whom ACU will face for the first time this season on Feb. 10 in Abilene.

The Wildcats and Islanders are going in opposite directions through the first half of conference play. ACU carries a 13-8 overall mark and 5-3 league record into the game and has won three of its last four games and five of its last seven games to move to within one game of third place in the league standings. ACU has also won five road games this season and is 4-1 on the road in league play after last Saturday's 80-63 win at Central Arkansas.

The Wildcats are led by the quartet of sophomore center Jalone Friday (12th in the league in scoring at 13.7 points per game), junior forward Jaren Lewis (14th at 13.4 ppg), graduate transfer guard Tevin Foster (21st in scoring at 12.7 ppg), and junior point guard Jaylen Franklin (10.1 ppg). Lewis and Franklin are first and second, respectively, in the league in field goal percentage and Lewis is seventh in the league in rebounding.

The Islanders, meanwhile are 4-12 overall and 1-5 in the league and have lost three straight Southland contests after beating Northwestern State, 67-65, on Jan. 3 for its only league win.

Senior Joe Kilgore is the fourth leading scorer in the Southland, averaging 16.9 ppg to lead the Islanders.