The men’s and women’s basketball teams both dropped games against Tarleton State on Tuesday night. The women’s team lost a heartbreaker, 66-64, at the buzzer. The men’s team was outscored 17-7 in the last 5:25 of the game to lose 70-60.
KELSI WILLIAMSON Chief Photographer Forward Jamie Meyer ties the game with a late game shot against the TexAnns.
The women’s team battled back from a 16-point deficit to tie the game with seven seconds left. Unfortunately, seven seconds was enough time for the TexAnns to hit a layup to win the game.
“It is always hard to lose one right at the buzzer,” said Head Coach Shawna Lavender. “In a game like that, it really came down to the first half where we spotted them 11 points. I felt really bad for the girls, but I told them to play like that for 40 minutes, and we will be able to do some damage in the playoffs.”
The Wildcats were struggling with turnovers and found themselves trailing 53-39. But with 11:38 left in the game, Jamie Meyer caught fire and scored 11 of the Wildcat’s next 15 points. ACU went on a 15-3 run to cut the deficit to 56-54 with 4:24 to play.
The game remained close coming down to the final minute. Jamie Meyer hit a shot with 52 seconds left to cut the TexAnn lead to 64-62. With a defensive stop, the Wildcats got the ball back with 16 seconds left. After a missed shot, ACU got the offensive rebound and called a timeout with 12 seconds left. Jamie Meyer tied the game, but the TexAnns hurried the ball up the court and found a player under the basket. Brittnie Haley hit a layup as time expired to give the TexAnns the victory.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 5-4 in the LSC South Division. They remain in fourth place, a half game ahead of Angelo State for the final conference tournament spot.
The men’s team competed well against the top team in the division, but the Texans were too much for the Wildcats. ACU scored nine straight points to tie the game at 53-53. However, the Texans answered with a 10-1 run, and the Wildcats were unable to recover. The 70-60 loss drops the Wildcats to 8-16 overall and 1-8 in the LSC South.
“I felt that we played hard,” said Head Coach Jason Copeland. “We shot the ball poorly, and although we forced some turnovers, we also had a lot of turnovers that led to some easy baskets for them.”
Both teams play against Midwestern State in Wichita Falls on Saturday; the women start at 6 p.m., and the men begin at 8 p.m.
