The men’s basketball team begins February with a home game for the first time since the start of the spring semester when it takes on the University New Orleans.

This will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams. The previous match up was the first conference game for both teams and New Orleans took the victory with a 75-66 score.

The Wildcats sit at last in the conference with a 2-7 record in Southland play and an 8-12 overall record while New Orleans is tied for first with Sam Houston with a 7-2 conference record and a 12-8 overall record.

ACU is hoping to pick up a victory after going on a tough three-game road trip in which it lost each match up to Nicholls State, Incarnate Word, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Sophomore guard Jaren Lewis, who leads his team in scoring (14.3 PPG) and rebounds (6.8 RPG), is ready to come back to play in Moody.

“It will be great to play at home for the first time since the start of the spring semester,” said Lewis. “We finally get a chance to play in front of the students with everyone back in school and on campus. We are looking forward to another opportunity to protect Moody.”

The men will have a tough test in their return to Moody as New Orleans will be a tough customer, sporting the leading scorer in the Southland Conference, senior forward Erik Thomas (19.9 PPG).

Thomas also leads the Southland Conference in field goal percentage (.615) and is fifth in rebounds (7.6 RPG).

Sophomore forward Hayden Howell, who has been coming off the bench and averaging 4.3 points a game and three rebounds a game, knows what the team needs to do to come away with a win.

“We know they’re a top team in the conference with a lot of experience and we’ll have to execute the game plan as well as following through on all the little things defensively, rebounding, and taking care of the ball.” Said Howell

The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and can be heard on the radio at 98.1 FM.