ABILENE – On Jan. 23 in Nacogdoches, Texas, the ACU Wildcats suffered maybe the toughest defeat of head coach
Joe Golding's career, a one-point loss to Stephen F. Austin that came when Lumberjacks' point guard Shannon Bogues buried a game-winning 3-pointer to cap a stunning SFA comeback in the final 20 seconds of the contest.
Since then the two teams have taken different paths.
ACU has been trending upward, having won seven of nine games since the loss entering Tuesday night's home against the aforementioned Lumberjacks. SFA, meanwhile, had lost six of its last 10 and was desperate for a win to keep its hopes alive for a berth in the Southland Conference Postseason Tournament next week in Katy.
The Wildcats extended the Lumberjacks' misery Tuesday night at Moody Coliseum with a 72-58 win that pushed ACU ever closer to earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament and a double-bye directly into the semifinals. The loss deals a blow to the Lumberjacks, who are now eighth in the league and must host regular-season champion Sam Houston State at home Saturday in a desperate regular-season finale.
ACU's win pushes the Wildcats to 24-6 overall and 13-4 in the league and helped this year's team set program records for wins in a regular season and conference wins. Both of the old records (23 and 12) were set by the 1979-80 team that won 23 regular-season games and 12 Lone Star Conference contests on its way to a program-record 27 overall wins and a berth in the NAIA national tournament.
If ACU is to tie the program record of 27 wins, they would need to either win Saturday in the home finale against Incarnate Word and then win two games next weekend in Katy to get to 27. If that happens, the Wildcats will have won the conference tournament championship and will be dancing in the NCAA Tournament.
Of more importance after Tuesday night's win is that the Wildcats are now either a Southeastern Louisiana win Wednesday or an ACU win Saturday away from clinching the tournament's No. 2 seed and earning the other double-bye. If SLU beats New Orleans on Wednesday in Hammond, Louisiana, the Wildcats earn the No. 2 seed, or if UNO wins the game ACU would need to beat Incarnate Word on Senior Day at Moody on Saturday.
Not bad for a program that just six years ago was one of the worst at the NCAA Division I level and just 10 years ago was at the bottom of the Division II ranks.
"This isn't about me; it's about the players," Golding said. "We've got a great group of seniors and juniors and they've become terrific leaders. This school gave them a chance and we're reaping the rewards of their hard work. We coach them hard, but we love our guys and they know that. They don't let very much bother them anymore and it's fun to watch."
ACU never trailed in recording just its second win over the Lumberjacks in the program's NCAA Division I era (since 2013-14). The Wildcats led by as many as 18 points late in the first half before settling for a 38-24 halftime lead.
The only push the Lumberjacks really mounted all night came with about 18 minutes left in the game and ACU holding a 44-26 lead after a 3-pointer by
Hayden Farquhar. Bogues hit a 3-pointer and then Davonte Fitzgerald hit a bucket and a 3-pointer to cut the ACU lead to 44-36. After
Trey Lenox answered with a 3-pointer for ACU, Bogus and Kevon Harris hit buckets to cut the lead to 47-40 with 13:49 left in the game.
After senior forward
Jaren Lewis — who topped 1,500 career points Tuesday night and needs just four rebounds to become only the fourth Wildcat in the 98 years of ACU basketball to record 1,500 career points and 800 career rebounds — hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 50-40 with 12:51 to play, Jovan Grujic hit a free throw before Harris buried a 3-pointer to suddenly make it a 50-44 game with plenty of time (10:47) left to play.
But ACU freshman point guard
Damien Daniels — who might have played his best game as a Wildcat with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes off the bench — had a shining moment when he picked up a loose ball that Lewis knocked and raced up the court, laying the ball high off the glass with his off hand and watching it fall through the bucket as he was fouled. He calmly sank the and-one free throw to push the lead back to 53-44 with 9:57 left, and when
Payten Ricks buried a 3-pointer 9:11 to play to put the Wildcats back up 56-44, the Lumberjacks were done.
SFA never cut the lead below 10 points the rest of the way, even after employing the Hack-A-Jaylen strategy to send ACU senior point guard
Jaylen Franklin — a career 55.8 percent free throw shooter — to the line. Franklin was 5 for 8 from the line in the final 3:24 and ACU as a team was 9 for 12 in that span as the Wildcats were able to foil the strategy.
Franklin — who has been spectacular in leading the team all season, but especially in the last three games — finished with a near-triple double as he had 16 points and seven rebounds to go along with 10 assists, which tied his career high. Lewis was equally as impressive as he finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals. And
Hayden Farquhar continued his strong play with 15 points off the bench – 10 in the first half – as he hit 3 of 6 from 3-point range and picked up four tough rebounds in 24 minutes.
Those three seniors will be celebrated Saturday afternoon at Moody Coliseum on Senior Day when ACU hosts Incarnate Word at 3:30 p.m. in their final regular-season home game.
