By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor

A pair of Lone Star Conference South Division losses Thursday and Saturday hurt the men’s basketball team’s chances of making the top four playoff spots in the LSC South, but no one would be able to tell by watching the Wildcats practice.

“Morale’s been pretty good,” head coach Klint Pleasant said. “We’ve had good senior leadership, and I credit [senior guard] Rodney Lee with a lot of that.”

The road losses to Texas A&M-Commerce [91-73] and Texas A&M-Kingsville [83-58] dropped the Wildcats to 11-12 overall and 2-6 for fifth place in the LSC South, but Pleasant said the team isn’t quitting.

“We’re going to play hard until the very end of the season,” he said. “I think our guys realize that we have a good team, and instead of sulking, we’re just going to try to win the next game.”

The next game is Saturday at Midwestern State. ACU lost to the Indians in overtime earlier in the season.

Pleasant said junior guard David Baxter and sophomore guard Atiba Alexander will likely miss the game. Baxter left for his Detroit home for his grandfather’s funeral, while Alexander’s chest pains have prevented him from playing.

“We might be a little shorthanded, but our spirits are still where they need to be,” Pleasant said.