The ACU men’s basketball team began the Joe Golding era last weekend by winning both of their games in the Whitten Inn tip-off classic. The Wildcats played a brand of basketball full of energy and intensity; something that could not be said in years past.

“We got to show people how hard we have been working.” Freshman Da-Juan Cooper said. “Coach Golding preaches defense, hustle, and all of those blue color things. We are winning games, so it is working. ”

In their first game of the season Friday night, the Wildcats won a thriller at home against Truman State.  Guard Marc Little knocked down a little floater with less than two seconds left in the game, giving Coach Golding his first win as ACU’s coach.

“I brought the ball up and just broke my defender down, got into the lane and made the shot.” Junior Marc Little said.

The Wildcats opened the game with a viscous dunk by Zach Williams, and continued their intense play throughout the first half. Defensively, they were world-beaters and offensively they were filling up the stat sheet, taking a 41-26 lead into halftime.

In the second half however, the bulldogs came roaring back. With only eight seconds to go, Truman State launched a prayer that banked in to tie the game. Six seconds later, Little would knock down the game winner.

“We had a fifteen point lead, and it evaporated in the first five or six minutes of the second half.” Golding said.  “We ran a play, and put the ball in Marc’s hands and Marc did a good job of going and making a play.”

Ten Wildcats scored in the game, with Kendall Durant, Antonio Bell, and Armani Williams finished in double figures.

The next night, the Wildcats would not leave any doubt against East Central. The final score was 89-72, but the game was not even that close.

“Tonight was great.” Golding said. “We were able to come out with the same intensity the whole game.  We went into halftime with an 11-point lead and stretched it to a 20 and then a 30-point lead. That was a huge step for our program.”

The Wildcats dominated in every sense of the word, and their defensive mindset was obvious from the beginning of the contest. The swarming Wildcat defense forced 24 turnovers, blocked several shots, and took three charges in the game.

“The defense played great tonight.” Little said. “This tournament set the tone for the whole year.”

The Wildcats enjoyed plenty of scoring in this game from several key players. Armani Williams lead the way with 18 points, followed by Marc Little with 13, and Zach Williams and Desmond Woodberry with 10 points each.

The Wildcats were pouring it in the net all night, shooting over 50 percent from the field, 48 percent from behind the arc, and 80 percent from the charity stripe.

The explosive offense paired with effort on the defensive end is going to make the Wildcats tough to handle in Moody Coliseum this year.

“We had this tournament to get some support going.” Golding said. “You have to take care of your home games, and so I’m proud of our guys for doing that.”

The Wildcats will put their perfect record on the line this weekend in the UTPB Classic tournament, which starts Friday night against the Permian Basin Falcons in Odessa.