The men’s basketball team traveled to Oklahoma with hopes of upsetting a talented Cameron team, but could not steal the game, losing 67-62 in overtime.
For the second time in three games, ACU hit a three with less than a minute left to force overtime, only to fall short in the final five minutes.
Freshman Parker Wentz buried a shot from long range to tie the game at 53-53 after an ACU steal, and the Wildcats could smell a much-needed road victory.
In the overtime, the Wildcats scored nine points, but they were unable to slow down a potent Aggie offense that controlled the entire overtime with a flurry of scoring.
The Wildcats never gave up, fighting off several deficits throughout the game and showed their heart as they have all season.
ACU was down by eight points at the intermission 31-23 because of tough Aggie defense. The Wildcats shot just 31% in the game, and missed 19 three-point attempts.
After halftime ACU came out looking to cut into the Cameron deficit, but were unable to narrow the gap.
For most of the half, Cameron held a two or three possession lead, but the ‘Cats were undeterred. With 50 seconds left, Elliott Lloyd drew a foul from behind the arc, earning three free throws.
After knocking down all three shots from the charity stripe, Lloyd had trimmed the Aggie lead to three.
From there, a Dosh Simms lay up and the Wentz three gave the ‘Cats their first tie since the first half.
Simms finished the game with a double double, 13 points to go along with his 13 rebounds. Eric Lawton led the way offensively for ACU, tallying 17 points. Lloyd had 12 points and T.J Brown scored nine points off the bench.
The Wildcats hammered Cameron on the boards, snagging 15 more rebounds and keeping ACU in the game from the painted area. The ‘Cats 20 offensive rebounds gave them easy looks at the basket and allowed them to hang in the game despite a poor shooting night.
Lawton and Lloyd each played more than 40 minutes, carrying the brunt of the work in the backcourt.
The loss puts ACU’s Lone Star Conference tournament hopes on life support, but wins against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M Kingsville would give the Wildcats a chance to make the tournament.
ACU will be back in action February 27th in San Antonio against Incarnate Word.
