ACU Wildcats managed to secure a 62-57 victory over East Central in a Lone Star Conference crossover men’s game at Moody Coliseum. Despite shooting only 26 percent and scoring only 24 points in the second half, the Wildcats’ fourth consecutive win has pushed them to a 9-3 record this season. This is an improvement for the team under second-year head coach Jason Copeland, who has won only eight games in each of the last two seasons. ACU will host Southeastern Oklahoma State in another crossover contest at 4 p.m. on Saturday, aiming for their 10th win of the season.
Although the Wildcats had a 16-point lead late in the first half, they settled for a 38-27 halftime lead. In the second half, they struggled to score and managed to make only two baskets in the first 9:40. The Tigers were not much better, but they managed to tie the game at 44-44 with 8:29 to play. However, Riley Lambert’s driving layup gave the Wildcats a 46-44 lead with 7:34 to play.
It was a back-and-forth game from that point on. The Tigers took their first lead of the second half with 2:54 to play, but Philip Austin Brooks hit three free throws to give ACU a 53-51 lead. Although the Tigers took the lead again (54-53), Brooks hit a clutch 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead for good (56-54) with 1:35 to play. Bro
