By Austin Gwin, Sports Writer
The Wildcats will go on the road Saturday, looking to win their last non-conference game of the season against the Cameron University Aggies (9-11).
After a disappointing loss to Midwestern State a week ago that dropped the Wildcats’ record to 8-11 overall, ACU will look to rebound against a non-conference opponent.
“We are going to come into this game the exact same way we do our conference games,” said head coach Jason Copeland. “We are just taking things one game at a time, and we will do our best to win on Saturday.”
ACU will have to watch out for Aggie guard Dave Smith who has carried the Aggies after the loss of leading scorer Dylan Gilliam. Smith has had at least 20 points in three of the last four games.
“Our guards are going to have to play [defense] and rebound well,” Copeland said. “We all need to hit the glass hard.”
The Wildcats are going to have to go against the grain to win in Aggie Gym. Cameron is 8-1 when playing on its home court this season. ACU has lost seven in a row on the road after winning their first road game of the season.
Forward Dejan Sencanski continues to be the leader for the Wildcats this season. He leads the team in both points (19.3) and rebounds per game (6.4). Of the Wildcats’ 19 games this season, Sencanski has led the team in scoring 14 times. He will be counted on again Saturday to provide a spark.
ACU will jump back into conference play Tuesday against Texas A&M-Kingsville (15-6, 4-1) at home. Javelinas won the first match-up of the season 78-73.
The Wildcats will have to have better post-play in order to beat the Javelinas in the rematch. Last game, the Wildcats were outscored in the paint 54-16. The biggest threat to the Wildcats’ defense down low was Clyde Johnson, who in addition to scoring a team-high 17 points, pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Johnson is second in points and rebounds per game for the Javelinas behind Robert Williams. Williams is averaging 13.5 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. He ended up being a non-factor in the first game against the Wildcats this year, scoring just eight points.
TAMU-K did a good job of capitalizing off ACU mistakes in the previous game, scoring 19 points off turnovers, including 10 on the fast break. The one bright spot for the Wildcats in the first meeting was scoring off the bench, as they had 18 points scored by non-starters.
The game on Tuesday will start at 8 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
