ABILENE – The Abilene Christian men's basketball team concludes a short homestand Tuesday with its annual Christmas Slam game vs. Texas A&M-Commerce at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast locally by
Grant Boone on 1280-AM KSLI and via the ACU Sports page at SkyBoxlive.com.
The Wildcats (4-2, 1-1 Lone Star Conference) are coming off an up-and-down week in which a historic 59-58 win at No. 18 West Texas A&M was followed by a disappointing 62-60 home loss to Eastern New Mexico. ACU led by as many as nine points in the first half, but the Greyhounds took control around halftime and sealed the victory with a last-second layup by Rodney Blackmon.
Against the Buffaloes, ACU celebrated its first victory in Canyon in over a decade last Wednesday night after Darnell Jackson's desperation last-second jumper bounced off the front of the rim. Jackson was forced into taking the final shot after Wildcat senior
Desmond Woodberry bodied up on Kennan Washington, the intended shooter. Washington lost control of the ball without having a clear look at the basket and fumbled it over to Jackson, who had no choice but to toss up a 20-footer from the top of the key.
In addition to shooting a season best 55.8 percent (24 of 43) from the floor led by
Steven Werner's 16 points, the Wildcats also held the previously undefeated Buffaloes to only two field goals during the final five minutes. ACU took its final lead of the game with 4:23 left on an
Elliott Lloyd 3-pointer and later pushed its lead out to three points on a layup by
Eric Lawton.
The Wildcats were fairly sharp from 3-point range vs. WT, hitting 7 of 16 attempts for a .438 percentage, but had nowhere near the same amount of success against the Greyhounds in finishing 3 of 18 (.167). ACU's players also collectively struggling from the free-throw line, where they've made just over 59 percent of their shots.
Commerce (5-2, 0-0 LSC) begins conference play vs. the Wildcats on a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Texas-Permian Basin, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas. The Lions also beat Dallas Baptist, 91-87 (OT), which split last month's season series with the Wildcats.
The Lions claim the LSC's top-ranked scoring offense this week with a 76.1 points per game average and are led offensively by the likes of Andrew Davis (11.4), Stefon Carson (10.6) and Devondrick Walker (10.1). Davis also is the league's top rebounder with 8.4 boards per game.
The Wildcats have three players ranked among the conference's top-20 scoring leaders: Lawton (15.7), Lloyd (14.2) and Werner (11.7). Werner also ranks No. 4 in rebounding with 7.8 per game, while bench player and junior transfer
Cornelius Cammock own the fourth best field-goal percentage of .629.
Freshman guard
Parker Wentz is No. 4 in steals with 2.3 per game and Lawton is tied for second in 3-pointers made with an average of 2.5.
Acrobatic slam-dunk performers from
Team BIG AIR will headline this year's Christmas Slam with a high-flying show at halftime. Additional treats include photos with Santa Claus, free food and drinks provided by ACU's student clubs and organizations, free pizza to the first 200 students in attendance, and a Christmas blessing from ACU President Dr. Phil Schubert.
Gift cards to Tin Cup and Shady Oaks golf courses, Primetime Family Entertainment Center, Xtreme Car Wash, Cotton Patch and Buffalo Wild Wings also will be given away.
Tickets start at $10 for adults and $5 for children 18 and under, with discounts being provided to church groups, military personnel, AYBA players and their families, as well as faculty and staff representing ACU and the Abilene Independent School District. Fans who bring unwrapped toys and children's undergarments for
Arms of Hope or canned food for the
KRBC Share Your Christmas Food Drive will also receive $5 tickets.
