The Wildcats hit the road this weekend as the men’s basketball team will take on the University of Houston at 7 p.m. Saturday night.
The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on 98.1 The Ticket. The Wildcats played Sacramento State Thursday night in Moody Coliseum as part of ACU’s Christmas Slam. Go online to acuoptimist.com for the recap.
Head coach Joe Golding’s squad is still searching for its first non-conference win over an NCAA Div. I opponent since a Dec. 3, 1984, win over Pepperdine. Before the Duquesne game, the last Div. I opponent to play in Moody Coliseum was Pepperdine.
The Wildcats are led by junior Parker Wentz, who has played consitently so far this early season. He leads the ‘Cats in scoring at 16.2 points a game and is shooting 54 percent from the field and is 12-24 from beyond the arc. Wentz registered a career-high 31 points against Duquesne, in which 19 points came in the second half.
Wentz’s backcourt mate, senior Harrison Hawkins, is the only other Wildcat averaging double-digit points for the season. At an even 12 points per game, Hawkins is second on the team in scoring, but has only gotten to the free throw line five times through the first five games.
Freshman forward Christian Albright has looked impressive so far this year. He had his best game of the season against Jarvis Christian, in which he registered 11 points and nine rebounds, falling one board short of his first career double-double as a Wildcat.
The Cougars come into the game after facing Texas Permian-Basin Thursday night in Houston. They’ve gone 2-1 in the team’s first three games of the season. Houston is led by junior guard Devonta Pollard who averages 19 points a game and nine rebounds per contest. Junior guards Cavon Baker (13.0) and Jherrod Stiggers (13.5) have also assumed much of the offensive load for Houston combining for 26.5 points per game so far this season.
The Wildcats have struggled shooting as a team, making only 42 percent of shots taken and just 37 percent from three. ACU put in just 39 points against one of the more developed teams Tulsa on Nov. 11. The Wildcats are giving up 48 percent shooting and are 32 of 80 from beyond the arc.
