The Tarleton State defense was too much for the Wildcats to handle, as the Texans cruised through the Wildcats 82-61.
The Texans held ACU scoreless for the first four minutes of the game, before ACU finally got on the board with an Alex Richman three-pointer. ACU was able to keep the game close in the beginning of the first half, until Tarleton went on a 14-2 run to close it out. The Texans took a 38-22 lead into halftime.
“Early on we got into a bind not taking care of the ball. We had 16 first half turnovers,” Head Coach Jason Copeland said. “Taking care of the basketball has been our Achilles heel the past few games.”
The Wildcats would not make a push in the second half and could not close the gap by fewer than 12 points. The Texans would go on to win 82-61. ACU was led by Ben Warton who scored 18 points coming off the bench. Preston Davis would add 12 points for the Wildcats in the game.
“I thought we fought hard and stayed in the game for a while, but a lot of turnovers led to some easy buckets for them and they made a big run,” Warton said.
The Wildcats fell to 9-17 overall on the season and 1-12 overall in the Lone Star Conference South Division. The Texans improve to 21-4 overall and 12-1 in the Lone Star Conference South Division. Tarleton has clinched the top spot in the South Division and will play the fourth seed of the LSC North next week in the conference tournament.
ACU will conclude its season Saturday night at home against Midwestern State. The Wildcats host the Mustangs at 7 p.m.
“MSU will come in here ready to play. They are a team we  felt that we should of beat here last year,” Copeland said.  “We need to be geared up for the game and hopefully send seniors out on a good note.”
The Wildcats are looking to play the spoiler, as the Mustangs are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the LSC South Division.
“When you don’t have anything to play for it’s hard to get ready for a game, so we’re just trying to play for each other now,” Warton said. “I’m proud of our guys for never quitting, so we’re going to still play hard and see if we can get this win Saturday to send the seniors out right.”
