PORTALES, N.M. -- ACU's valiant comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit fell just short Wednesday night as Eastern New Mexico held on for a 78-65 win over the Wildcats in the Lone Star Conference South Division opener for both teams at Greyhound Arena.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 7-9 overall and 0-1 in the LSC South while the Greyhounds improve to 6-9 and 1-0. ACU will be back in action Saturday at 4 p.m. when it hosts West Texas A&M at Moody Coliseum. The win snaps Eastern New Mexico's 24-game losing streak in LSC South Division play. The Greyhounds' last division win before Wednesday night was a 77-74 overtime win over Tarleton State on Feb. 24, 2007, at Greyhound Arena.
ACU trailed 53-37 with 12:06 to play before the Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to 55-44 with 8:16 to play on a layup by
Eddie Thompson. That's when ACU head coach Jason Copeland turned up the pressure with a backcourt press and it helped get the Wildcats back in the game.
The Greyhounds failed to get the ball past halfcourt on four straight possessions and ACU capitalized, eventually tying the score at 57-57 with a
Preston Davis layup with 5:45 to play. But after a
Ben Warton dunk after an offensive rebound tied the game 59-59 with 4:39 to play, the Greyhounds outscored the Wildcats 19-6 in the final 4:08, including hitting each of their final 14 free throw attempts.
Eddie Thompson led the Wildcats with 13 points, while
Marcus Washington had 11 for ACU. They were the only two in double figures, while the Greyhounds saw each of their starters reach double figures led by Victor Reid's 20 points.
