In a last-second buzzer-beater, ACU (3-6, 0-2) fell to Northern Arizona (4-5, 0-0) on Wednesday night in a final score of 78-76, making it four straight losses for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats came into Wednesday night’s contest following two losses to begin conference play including a tough overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.
The Wildcats opened up the game rather slowly on offense, getting down in an 8-2 hole, taking the Wildcats five minutes before they scored their first field goal.
Despite the struggling offense, sophomore guard JV Seat was able to provide some much-needed momentum off the bench, scoring five straight points as part of a larger 10-0 run from the Wildcats, giving ACU its first lead of the game.
Right as it seemed as though the Wildcat offense began clicking, the team would go on another five minutes without scoring a field goal.
“We had a couple of guys that didn’t show up tonight,” head coach Brette Tanner said. “We can have guys just have bad shots or have a bad night shooting, but they have got to show up and play and do other things and I think a couple of guys allowed the way that they were playing offensively to take them out of their game.”
Despite the first-half struggles, the Wildcats were able to settle in on defense and after five points from junior guard Kavion McClain in the last minute of the half, the Wildcats found themselves only down 38-37 after the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, ACU would rely on some veteran leadership to keep them in the game as 11 combined points from senior forward Airion Simmons and senior guard Immanuel Allen would keep the Wildcats within striking distance. Six straight free throws followed by a Simmons layup gave the Wildcats a three-point lead with 7:17 remaining in the game.
Tied at 70 a piece with just under three minutes remaining, Simmons would turn the ball over but make up for it quickly after, hitting a layup followed by two free throws to give the Wildcats a one-point advantage right before the one-minute mark.
“We’re getting everything we can out of Airion every night,” Tanner said. “He’s been fantastic for us and that’s a big deal because he struggled last year. I don’t care if he scores or doesn’t score but he’s got to be a positive leader for this team.”
The Lumberjacks would take a two-point lead with 25 seconds remaining, setting up two clutch free throws from senior guard Hunter Jack Madden to tie the game up, 76-76.
After a last-second shot from the Lumberjacks missed everything and it looked as though the game would head to overtime, NAU’s Diego Campisano would catch the rebound and reverse it in the air as the horn sounded and the Lumberjacks would leave Abilene with the 78-76 win.
Simmons finished the game with a team-high 25 points and seven rebounds and McClain finished with 15 points in 30 minutes of play. Allen added 11 points off of the bench and sophomore forward Leonardo Bettiol contributed eight points, going 6-6 from the free throw line. The team finished shooting 38.3% from the field and 26.3% from beyond the arch. The Wildcats lost the rebound battle, to a more undersized NAU team, 44-28.
“We’ve got to continue to get better and trust the process,” Tanner said. “It stinks, I would much rather be 6-3 right now. I know everybody would. Our fans would and everybody in this University would rather be there, but it’s a long season. I’ve been doing this for 26 years. I know what we are doing is right. Those players know what we are doing is right and if people will stick with us, they’re going to enjoy this ride come second semester for sure.
The Wildcats return to action on Sunday where they will take on Howard Payne at 3 p.m. in Moody Coliseum with the game streaming live on ESPN+.
