ABILENE – Saturday night's thriller at Moody Coliseum had just about everything fans of both ACU and Sam Houston State could have wanted:
• a big first-half lead built by Sam Houston State, which led by as many as 17 points in the first 20 minutes;
• a thrilling second-half comeback by ACU that saw the Wildcats take the lead a couple of times late in the half before sending it to overtime with a
Payten Ricks 3-pointer with 0.25 seconds left in regulation;
• sensational play from players on both teams, putting it on the line for 40 minutes of regulation and two five-minute overtime periods;
• huge drives to the basket by ACU's
Jaylen Franklin, who seemed to be trying to will his team to a victory;
• and, finally, three huge 3-pointers in the extra 10 minutes by Sam Houston guard Marcus Harris, the final two coming in the second overtime and propelling the Bearkats to a 90-85 win over the Wildcats.
Harris – who led all scorers with 23 points – was at his best in the overtime sessions, but especially in the second when he scored 10 of Sam Houston's 14 points to push the Bearkats to 16-8 overall and 11-0 in the Southland Conference. The loss drops second-place ACU to 19-5 and 8-3.
Harris was 9 for 9 from the field, but didn't attempt a 3-pointer until he buried one with 1:20 left in the first overtime to give his team a 74-73 lead over ACU.
Jaren Lewis made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:04 left to tie the game before Sam Houston's Cameron Delaney turned the ball over on one end and Franklin put the Wildcats back ahead (76-74) with a driving layup at the 31-second mark.
But Sam Houston got the game tied at 76-76 with 15 seconds to play in overtime on a Kai Mitchell bucket and ACU couldn't get a clean shot off at the end of overtime, sending the game to a second bonus period.
Harris completely took over in the second overtime, hitting back-to-back jumpers around a Franklin layup to give the Bearkats an 80-78 lead.
Hayden Farquhar made 1 of 2 free throws with 2:27 left to make it 80-79, but Harris answered on the other end with a 3-pointer to give the Bearkats an 83-79 lead with 1:48 to play.
B.J. Maxwell got the Wildcats back to within two points (83-81) with a layup at the 1:25 mark and when Lewis hit a jumper in the lane the game was tied at 83-83 with one minute left in the second extra session. But Harris — with a hand in his face — buried the Wildcats' hopes with a dagger 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Bearkats an 86-83 lead with 33 seconds to play.
Farquhar answered for ACU with a driving layup to cut the lead to 86-85 before Delaney hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to make tit 88-85. ACU had a chance to get a game-tying shot off, but Ricks lost the handle on the ball near the sideline, turning the ball back over to the Bearkats. Delaney buried two more free throws with four seconds left and that was the ballgame as ACU dropped its first home game of the season, falling to 11-1 at Moody Coliseum.
For the second straight game, Sam Houston State dominated the first half, putting ACU in a huge first-half hole. On Jan. 5 in Huntsville, the Bearkats led by as many as 25 points in the first half before settling for a 22-point halftime lead. But just as they did Saturday night in Abilene, the Wildcats fought back in Huntsville, cutting the lead to two on separate occasions before finally falling, 71-68.
Saturday night at an electric Moody Coliseum, the Wildcats fell behind by as many as 17 points in the first half (23-6) before getting to within 37-23 at the break. The Wildcats exploded out of the locker room and got the deficit down to two points (45-43) on a Maxwell 3-pointer with 10:41 left in the game.
Lewis — who didn't score in the first half but finished with 16 points — had six points in the half-opening 20-8 run that got the Moody crowd on its feet for much of the second half and as loud as its been for a men's basketball game in more than 25 years. Maxwell had five points in the run, while
Jalone Friday had four, Ricks three and Franklin two.
The Wildcats took their first lead since 2-0 with 7:12 left in regulation when Lewis hit a jumper to make it 48-47. From there, the two Southland heavyweights stood in the center of the ring and threw haymakers at one another, each answering the bell just when it appeared they were about to be counted out.
Sam Houston looked for all the world to have weathered the storm at the end of regulation when Albert Almanza hit a pair of free throws for a 63-59 lead with 1:26 left in the game. But Maxwell scored before Harris made 1 of 2 free throws and a 64-61 Sam Houston lead with 29 seconds left. When Almanza hit two free throws with 23 seconds left to give the Bearkats a 66-61 lead, the game appeared over.
But Franklin went to the free throw line and made the first before missing the second to make it 66-62. But Farquhar tied up the ball and the Wildcats had the possession arrow. Maxwell hit a jumper with 7.8 seconds left to make it 66-64 and when Harris had to settle for 1 of 2 free throws on the other end and a 67-64 lead, the Wildcats had their chance.
Ricks brought the ball up the left side of the floor, cut to the middle of the floor, shook his defender and buried the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to overtime. From there it was a fistfight over the next 10 minutes with even the two head coaches — Jason Hooten for Sam Houston and
Joe Golding for ACU — sharing some conversation and smiles about the contest during the second overtime period.
Franklin finished with a team-high 20 points, while Lewis and Friday added 16, Ricks 14 and Maxwell 13 for ACU, which got just six points off the bench: three from Farquhar, two from
Kolton Kohl and one from
Joe Pleasant. Sam Houston got just seven points off its bench as the starters for both teams played huge minutes in the game.
QUOTABLE
"That was a great college basketball game. We didn't have a great start again, but our guys showed incredible heart and fight to get back in it. Both teams fought. It was a great game to be a part of, and even though our guys are hurting they'll look back on it and realize they were part of something pretty special."
— ACU head coach Joe Golding
"Sam Houston made the last couple of plays in the game on those 3-pointers by Marcus Harris. He's a terrific player and he stepped up and made a couple of huge shots with hands in his face. I thought we guarded him about as well as we could have, but he just made big shots."
— ACU head coach Joe Golding
"I never got to play in front of a crowd like that at Moody, and we didn't have any crowds like that when I was an assistant, and none until (Saturday night) as the head coach. I'm so thankful and grateful to our students and the ACU community and the city of Abilene for coming out and supporting this team. When you have a great crowd like we had that's into it the way they were, it makes for a great environment. We didn't give them what they wanted to see, which was an ACU win, but we gave them a great battle and I hope we see another crowd like that one when we're back here on Feb. 23 against Southeastern Louisiana."
— ACU head coach Joe Golding
WHAT THE LOSS MEANS
• ACU lost at home for the first time this season to fall to 11-1 in Moody Coliseum.
• ACU is now three games behind Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference standings. But the Wildcats stayed in second place thanks to Nicholls, which beat New Orleans, 64-63, on a late 3-pointer by Danny Garrick. UNO is now 8-4 in the league, one-half game behind the Wildcats.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats are on the road for a pair of games next week starting with a game Wednesday night in Thibodaux, La., against Nicholls. The Wildcats close the week next Saturday in San Antonio against Incarnate Word.
