ACU hosts UIW for Franklin, Lewis, Farquhar farewell

Incarnate Word at ACU

When: Saturday, March 9, 2019
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Where: Moody Coliseum (Abilene, Texas)
Records: ACU 24-6, 13-4; Incarnate Word 6-24, 1-16
Series: UIW leads 12-6
Last Game: ACU 68, UIW 48 (Feb. 16, 2019 / San Antonio, Texas)
Streak: ACU, w3
Last ACU win: ACU 68, UIW 48 (Feb. 16, 2019 / San Antonio, Texas)
Last UIW win: UIW 89, ACU 75 (March 1, 2017 / Abilene, Texas)
Radio: 98.1 FM (98theticket.com)
Watch: Stretch Internet
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

ABILENE – With the No. 2 seed in next week's Southland Conference Postseason Tournament already sewn up, the ACU Wildcats can turn their attention in Saturday afternoon's regular-season finale to these important points:

• A fourth straight win over Incarnate Word;
• Sending seniors Jaylen Franklin, Jaren Lewis and Hayden Farquhar out of Moody Coliseum with their 41st home win in the last four seasons;
• Becoming the first team in the 98-year history of ACU men's basketball to capture post 25 regular-season victories.

ACU and Incarnate Word will wrap up the regular season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Moody Coliseum and it will likely be the last time ACU fans can see their three standout seniors perform on the home floor. This four-year run when ACU has gone 40-17 inside Moody Coliseum is the ninth-best four-year span in the arena's 51-year history and the best since the Wildcats were 40-10 in Moody from 1995-99.

The best run in the arena came under head coach Willard Tate from 1976-80 when the Wildcats were 50-10. Of course, the most famed run in the arena's history came under head coach Mike Martin from 1984-88 when the Wildcats were 48-1 at home with a 44-game home court winning streak and three unbeaten seasons in Moody (1984-85, 1985-86 and 1986-87).

After Saturday afternoon's game, the Wildcats won't play again until next Friday at 7:30 p.m. when they take on an opponent to be determined in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament. Here's a quick glance at each of the three seniors the Wildcats will say goodbye to Saturday afternoon:

One of the most dynamic players in ACU basketball history, Jaylen Franklin is second in ACU's Division I era in scoring with 1,401 points and is the Division I era leader in assists (491) and steals (214). He is nine assists away from joining Randall Moore as the only two Wildcats in the program's history to record at least 1,400 career points and 500 career assists. Franklin set an ACU freshman scoring record with 486 points in 2015-16. He was voted the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and finished as the runner-up for national Freshman of the Year honors, and he was a second all-conference selection in 2015-16. He was also selected to the SouthlandConference All-Defensive Team last season.

He's the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in ACU's NCAA Division I era with 1,507 career points and 796 career rebounds. Jaren Lewis ranks ninth and sixth, respectively, in those categories in ACU's all-time history. With four more rebounds, he will become just the fourth Wildcat in the 98-year history of the program to record at least 1,500 career points and at least 800 career rebounds. He's a two-time academic all-Southland Conference selection, a three-time Southland Player of the Week and he was also a 2018-19 Preseason All-Southland Conference selection.

This four-year letterman is playing the best basketball of his career as a senior. The top sixth man in the Southland Conference, Hayden Farquhar from Throckmorton is averaging 6.2 points per game and shooting a career-best 52 percent from the field. He's also set career highs in assists and steals and is five points away from a career high in points scored. He's been at his best in Southland Conference games, averaging 7.6 points per game and hitting 45 percent of his 3-point attempts. He also has five double-digit scoring games in conference play.