CONWAY, Ark.—
Payten Ricks put together one of the finest performances of his career on Saturday evening as he helped lead the Wildcats back from an early first half deficit and on to an overtime victory over Central Arkansas. The Wildcats started the game with a defensive clinic, holding the Bears scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the game. UCA would punch back going on a 16-0 run and pushing their lead to 16-6. The Bears would lead by as many as 13 but solid defensive and a clutch performance from Ricks allowed the Wildcats to force overtime and earn the late OT win, 70-69.
Key Plays
- Payten Ricks set the tone for his night as he opened the game with a straight-on three off the feed from Airion Simmons.
- The Wildcats held the Bears scoreless for almost the first five minutes of action.
- The Bears went on a 16-0 run over the next five minutes and held the Wildcats scoreless for a total of seven minutes.
- ACU went on a 15-8 run over the final 4:12 of the first half getting big buckets from Clay Gayman, Reggie Miller, and Ricks who each made a three down the stretch.
- Trey Lenox hit a mid-range jumper with a second left in the first half to cut the Bears' halftime advantage to just five points.
- Coryon Mason opened the second half with a three from the corner off a feed from Joe Pleasant.
- A three from the Bears put them up seven points with under 10 minutes left to play.
- Miller answered with a three of his own, cutting the lead down to four.
- The Bears' pushed their lead to as many as nine in the second half, but the Wildcats chipped away at the lead late.
- Pleasant made a three on the wing with just over a minute left to put the Wildcats within one possession of UCA.
End of Regulation
Coryon Mason made a jumper in the lane with just over thirty seconds left to play after the Bears turned the ball over. Down just one point, the Wildcats committed a foul on the other end of the floor with the Bears going 1-2 at the line. The Wildcats then turned the ball over with 11 seconds remaining forcing ACU to put another UCA player at the line, but once again they could only convert 1-2, allowing the Wildcats a chance to tie.
ACU put the ball in the hands of
Payten Ricks and in possibly the most clutch play of his career, he drew the foul on a three-point attempt and headed to the free throw line with a chance to tie. Without the slightest hint of the pressure facing him, Ricks sank all three attempts and the Bears would have one second to try and get a shot off. When UCA attempted to inbound the ball,
Kolton Kohl tipped the pass and had a look at a last chance shot that just rolled off the rim sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
ACU started overtime on a 5-1 run that saw a strong drive to the rim from Mason followed up with a powerful dunk from Kohl. Once again, the Bears struggled to convert free throws and the Wildcats held a four-point advantage with just under two minutes of play. A late turnover led to an easy bucket for UCA, cutting the lead to two points. On the ensuing inbounds play, Miller was called for an offensive foul and the ball was given back to the Bears with just 32 seconds on the clock. UCA found an open man in the corner for three and with 15 seconds remaining, the Wildcats found themselves trailing by one. Ricks once again took initiative on the offensive end and his driving layup with 3.2 seconds left found its' way through the net for the win.
Stat Pack
- Payten Ricks led all scorers with 24 points. This was just his second 20-point game of the season and 14th game in double figures.
- The Wildcats forced 22 turnovers, scoring 23 points off of those turnovers.
- ACU shot just over 39 percent from three-point range for their second highest percentage of the season. The 11 made threes were the most against a DI opponent on the season.
- For the first time this season, Reggie Miller made multiple threes (2) and scored a career-high eight points.
- The Bears outscored the Wildcats 28-7 in bench points.
- UCA's Hayden Koval totaled seven blocks in the game.
- Ricks' five three-pointers ties a career-high in a game, he has made five threes on seven different occasions.
- Both teams shot worse than 70 percent from the free throw line.
Up Next
ACU will find themselves on the road once again this coming week as they travel to face SFA, who sits atop the Southland rankings at 7-1. The team travels to Nacogdoches and will play at 7:30 p.m. immediately following the women's game. The game will stream on ESPN+.
