By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor
The nationally ranked ACU men’s basketball team started its Lone Star Conference South Division schedule on the right foot with a 77-73 win over Angelo State on Saturday.
ACU’s tenth-straight win knocked their national ranking in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll up seven spots from No. 21 to No. 14. The win also snapped a nine-game LSC South Division losing streak for ACU, and was the Wildcats first LSC South road win since January 2006.
“This is the best team, on and off the court, that I’ve been a part of,” Guard Brandon Callahan said.
ACU played its LSC South home opener Tuesday night in Moody Coliseum against Eastern New Mexico, but results were not available by press time.
Guard Dante Adams sank the game winning 3-pointer Saturday night, which gave ACU a 75-73 lead with less than 11 seconds remaining. Adams’ shot reclaimed the lead for ACU after Angelo had a 73-72 lead with less than a minute left in the game. The Rams missed a game-tying shot, and Callahan sank two free throws to secure the win for the Wildcats.
“It’s never a good thing being in such a close game,” Callahan said. “The South is a tough league to play in.”
ACU trailed 43-33 at halftime but battled back and took a 60-59 lead with less than seven minutes left in the game. From there, the two teams traded the lead until Adams sunk the game winning 3-pointer.
One of the main reasons ACU won was the play of forward Cam Holson, who led the team with 18 points and nine rebounds. Holson stepped up and scored while other starters struggled, and Copeland said he came through for his team when it counted most.
“They tried to shut down our leading scorers and took the chance of leaving myself and Steven open and we took advantage,” Holson said.
Three other Wildcats scored in the double digits for ACU in the win, center Stephen Musa (11), guard Corwin Ragland (12) and Callahan (13).
Last season, ACU’s only LSC South win was against Angelo State. The Wildcats went on to finish conference play with a 1-11 record and the seventh-straight losing season in program history. But with this season’s additions to the roster, Copeland said he is optimistic about ACU’s chances to make the conference tournament in his third season.
“Some of our transfers have D-I experience, and some of our Junior Collegetransfers played for some of the best Junior Colleges in the nation,” Copeland said. “So it feels good to
have guys that have been in battle before.”
The Wildcats lead the conference in free throw percentage and at one time had the nation’s best field goal percentage. ACU has already won four more games than it did in 2007, is nationally ranked for the first time since 1999 and is one of three LSC teams ranked.
And with the new additions to a team that Copeland calls the most talented he’s seen since he’s been at ACU, anything could happen in conference play.
“You just got to keep playing hard and playing together,” Copeland said.
