Three Wildcats hit season, career marks at UCA

CONWAY, Ark. -- Kolton Kohl scored a season-high 21 points, Joe Pleasant hit a career-high four three-pointers, and Reggie Miller dished out a career-best 11 assists, but the ACU men's basketball team came up just short on the road Saturday at the Farris Center against Central Arkansas. The Wildcats (19-4, 11-2 SLC) trailed by one point with 37 seconds left, but after a miss in the paint and a foul, UCA hit one out of two and gave ACU one last chance to tie or win. Damien Daniels missed a mid-range jumper and Pleasant couldn't get the put-back to fall, and ACU dropped a hard-fought, 84-82 battle to the Bears.

Southland Significance
With the Nicholls win and the SFA loss, ACU (11-2 SLC) is still in a tie for first place in the conference. ACU, Nicholls, SFA, and Sam Houston all have two losses in league play. With a week to go, a regular season championship is still within reach for the Wildcats, who play at SFA on Wednesday and host UIW on Saturday.

Turning Point
ACU trailed 83-79 with 1:29 to play. The Wildcats flipped it into Airion Simmons in the post, he backed down and turned around to hit a jumper in the paint to put ACU back within two, 83-81. Now they just needed a stop. They got it. Daniels forced a steal and went down the court in fast break for a layup and drew a foul. The junior hit one of two, and it was an 83-82 Central Arkansas lead with 37 seconds left. After a Mahki Morris foul, UCA's Eddy Kayouloud hit the first free throw, missed the second, and the 'Cats had the rebound trying to push it up to tie or win the game. Daniels got it towards the paint with the dribble, missed a mid-range jumper, and Pleasant got the rebound and missed a chance through contact to tie it at the buzzer.

Key Plays
- 1H | Both teams got out to hot starts from the three-point line. Reggie Miller and Joe Pleasant each hit triples on the first two possessions, and Coryon Mason and Airiron Simmons hit back-to-back three's at the 13-minute mark of the half.
- 1H 11:50 | Kolton Kohl got off to a great start in the game, and scored on his signature hook shot to push the lead to seven, 22-15.
- 1H 9:53 | Mahki Morris hit a three-pointer to give ACU its first double-digit lead of the game, 33-22.
- 1H 7:01 | Cameron Steele hit a three at the top of the key to push the Wildcats' lead to 38-24, and three minutes later Kohl scored in the paint to give ACU a 17-point lead, its largest lead Saturday.
- 2H | UCA Jared Chatham got hot to start the second half, scoring eight straight points to cut it to a six-point lead for ACU, 52-46.
- 2H 11:28 | Joe Pleasant, who hit two three-pointers in the first half, buried one at the top of the key to push ACU's lead back to 63-57.
- 2H 5:47 | Daniels got a steal and made a smooth play in transition, flipping up a reverse layup through traffic with perfect English off the backboard for the two points to tie the game, 73-73.
- 2H 2:55 | Coryon Mason, who battled through foul trouble, hit a huge three-pointer to tie the game at 77. Mason would foul out a few possessions later trying to take a charge.
- 2H 1:50 | Kolton Kohl hit a pair of foul shots, and ACU trailed 81-79.
- 2H 1:23 | Eddie Kayouloud hit big free throws down the stretch for UCA, including two to put the Bears back up, 83-79, setting up the finish.

Stat Pack
- ACU went 12-23 from the three-point line, marking the fourth time in the last six games the team has hit double-digit three-pointers.
- ACU was out-rebounded 40-34, but turned it over two less times, 13-11.
- UCA scored 48 points in the second half, and shot 63% from the floor.
- Kohl scored a season-best 21 points on 7-13 from the floor. The center hit 7-8 at the foul line as well, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
- Pleasant tallied 16 points on a career-high four triples, hitting two in each half. Pleasant added six rebounds.
- Mason dropped 13 points on four three-pointers, and added five assists.
- Miller scored six points, and dished out a career-best 11 assists. He also added four steals, a game-high.
- There were six ties and seven lead changes in the game.

Up Next
- ACU heads to Nacogdoches, Texas on Wednesday, March 3 for a date with SFA. The 'Cats go for the season sweep of the Lumberjacks, and a time has been scheduled for the game. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 102.7 The Bear.