HUNTSVILLE – What the ACU Wildcats almost pulled off Saturday night against Sam Houston State would have qualified it as one of the greatest wins in program history. Instead it was a hard-learned lesson that the Wildcats hopefully put to use the rest of the season.
For the second straight game, the Wildcats got off to a slow start on both ends of the floor, but unlike last Wednesday night when they rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to beat New Orleans by 10, they couldn't quite come all the way back from a 25-point first-half hole they dug for themselves as Sam Houston State hung on for a 71-68 victory at Johnson Coliseum.
The Wildcats trailed 41-16 late in the first half before the Bearkats settled for a 41-19 halftime lead, that lead built on porous ACU shooting (6 of 24), 11 Wildcat turnovers and 55-percent shooting by Sam Houston State (16 of 29).
The second half was a complete reversal of the first as ACU dominated the action on both ends of the floor. The Wildcats shot 61.5 percent from the floor (16 of 26), including 77.8 percent from 3-point range (7 of 9), forced nine turnovers and out-rebounded the Bearkats 16-6 in the final 20 minutes.
Junior guard
Payten Ricks — who averages 11 points per game with eight of those coming in the second half — led the charge on the offensive end with 15 of his team-high 18 points coming in the final 20 minutes. Ricks tied his career high with five 3-pointers, four of them coming in the second half.
Senior point guard
Jaylen Franklin was 0 for 4 from the floor with four turnovers in the first half, but came back in the second half to add 11 points, three rebounds, six assists and one steal in 18 second-half minutes.
B.J. Maxwell had eight points in the half with six coming on a pair of 3-pointers, while freshman guard
Damien Daniels chipped in valuable minutes in the comeback. Senior
Hayden Farquhar had five second-points and a couple of rebounds, while senior
Jaren Lewis had four points and three rebounds.
The Wildcats chipped away throughout the half, but the Bearkats led 59-46 with 6:24 to play after a free throw by Chad Bowie. But the Wildcats responded with an 11-0 run to get to within two points at 59-57 with 4:15 to play. Maxwell got the run started with a 3-pointer, followed by a quick jumper and then back-to-back 3-pointers from Ricks.
ACU got to within two points on four other occasions late in the game, but never could get the stop and bucket it needed to tie the game. Sam Houston guard Josh Delaney — who had a career-high 30 points — hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left to give his team a 70-66 lead. But Franklin drove the length of the floor for a layup to cut the lead back to 70-68 with 11 seconds to play.
The Wildcats then fouled Delaney once again, and hit the second of two, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer. After a timeout, the Wildcats inbounded the ball to Maxwell, who got the ball on the run, cut across the half court line and launched from just inside 30 feet. The ball hit off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded and the Bearkats were able to escape with the win.
ACU is now 12-3 overall and 1-1 in the Southland Conference, while the Bearkats improve to 6-8 and 1-0. The Wildcats will be back in action Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. when they take on McNeese in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
