By Austin Gwin, Sports Writer
The Wildcats lost their third-straight and sixth of the last seven games on Saturday at Moody Coliseum, getting beat by the Angelo State Rams 77-67. The loss drops the Wildcats’ record to 7-10 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
Angelo State (14-4; 2-1) proved to be too big of a test for the Wildcats to handle as ACU struggled all game. The Rams, which have the second-best record in the LSC, seemed quicker, stronger and more patient with the ball.
“We didn’t do a good job rebounding the basketball,” head coach Jason Copeland said. “They really beat us on the offensive boards. Second-chance points for them hurt us.”
In fact, the Wildcats were outrebounded 50-37 throughout the game. Although both teams shot the ball poorly, ACU actually shot one percentage point better. However, the Rams’ 16 second-chance points proved to be the difference.
ACU got behind early in the game and was never able to catch up. The Rams jumped to a 22-6 lead just five-and-a-half minutes into the game, but the Wildcats battled back with good defense and made it a 12-point margin going into halftime.
To begin the second half, Angelo State once again found its groove and built a 17-point lead with eight minutes left in the game. The Wildcats, however, cut the lead to five with just under a minute to play, but it was not enough as the Rams made their free throws down the stretch and came away with the win.
“We just dug ourselves in a hole early,” Copeland said. “It was good how our guys were able to fight back, but we can’t put ourselves in those situations. We did a better job in the second half; we just got behind too early.”
Ean Wagner led all Wildcat scorers with 14 points. Dejan Sencanski, Dante Adams and Cameron Holson all chipped in with 12 units each.
ACU’s lack of depth added fuel to the Ram fire with only two players scoring off the bench; one of them was Wagner, who had 14 of the 16 Wildcat bench points. The Rams on the other hand were able to score 24 bench points and had two non-starters score in double figures.
The Wildcats game against Tarleton State on Tuesday evening was postponed due to inclement weather. The game is rescheduled for Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
