A COMMEMORATIVE PRINT ISSUE RECOGNIZING THE ACU MEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORIC 2020-21 SEASON ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Monday, March 29, 2021 | 1
WILDCAT MADNESS
ACU STUNS TEXAS, 53-52 FOR PROGRAM’S FIRST NCAA TOURNAMENT VICTORY
BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW |NCAA PHOTOS VIA GETTY IMAGES
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 20: The Abilene Christian Wildcats take on the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 20, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana BY OWEN SIMPSON EDITOR IN CHIEF
The Wildcats forced 23 turnovers and held Texas to a season-low 52 points in their first NCAA Tournament victory in school history March 20. “We showed tremendous heart tonight, a ton of adversity all night long, couldn’t get the ball to go in the basket, couldn’t find a way to score, but just continued to guard and found a way to get on the offensive glass,” said head coach Joe Golding. “So just an incredible win for our university and for our basketball team.” Junior forward Joe Pleas-
ant posted 11 points and eight rebounds on 4-for-9 shooting Saturday night, but no points were more important than two made free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats over the Longhorns, 53-52. “It’s an incredible feeling for the whole team,” Pleasant said. “We were real excited about this game, excited that we got an opportunity to play a good program, a good team like Texas and it feels even better to get a win like this.” ACU (24-4, 13-2) is the first 14-seed to advance to the Round of 32 since 2016 (Stephen F. Austin). Despite shooting just 30% as a team,
the Wildcats relied on their defense to extend their run into the tournament. Golding said that he believed Pleasant would hit both free throws to take the lead. Pleasant shot 59% from the free throw line on the season, the worst on the team. “We talked about what we were going to do when he made them both,” Golding said. “I knew he was making them. He works harder than anybody in our program. He lives in the gym. He’s there every day working on his game.” The Wildcats made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program histo-
ry back in 2019 but suffered a blowout loss to Kentucky. Pleasant said this trip and team is different. “I felt like two years ago we were just kind of happy to be there,” Pleasant said. “It was first time experience, and this team, we were ready to take on another challenge, not just to be here, but to compete and try and get some wins down here.” Texas (19-8, 11-6 Big 12) drops its fourth-consecutive loss in the Round of 64 dating back to 2015. “Just really feel for our guys right now because up until tonight we had a phenomenal season, and this obviously isn’t the way that
any of us envisioned it ending, but this is one of the facts of the NCAA tournament,” said head coach Shaka Smart. “One team gets to stay, and one team goes home.” The Wildcats advance to the Second Round to face UCLA March 22 at 4:15 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the home of the Indiana Pacers. The game will air on TBS. “We’re going to have to get them focused,” Golding said. “Obviously our guys, they’re excited right now, but we have to get back to the hotel. It’s almost 1 o’clock in the morning. We got a long night ahead of us as a coaching staff.”
Wildcats conclude historic season against Bruins BY OWEN SIMPSON EDITOR IN CHIEF
ACU’s historic season reached its conclusion in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament March 22 against UCLA, 67-47. After shocking the Texas Longhorns in the First Round, the Wildcats were hoping to become the first 14-seed in 25 years to reach the Sweet 16, but poor shooting sealed their fate. “We had a 10-point game. We’ve been there before. And then we had some good looks to start the second half, they just didn’t go down,” said head coach Joe Golding. “And then obviously UCLA executed offensively and they were able
to separate, hit some threes and got it to 20 points and then it’s going to be tough.” The Wildcats led 12-8 early, but they struggled to keep pace offensively with UCLA (20-9, 13-6 Pac-12). “They’ve got really, really good players,” Golding said. “They iso-ed us a bunch today and played us oneon-one, and if we go help and run around, they’ve got shooters all around the floor.” Senior guard Mahki Morris led the Wildcats in scoring with a season-high 14 points and 6-for-12 shooting. Despite the Wildcats’ loss, Golding believes the program is heading in the right direction. “It’s a brotherhood for the rest of our life,” Gold-
ing said. “We’re starting to build that at ACU over the last five or six years. It’s a family now. It’s a brotherhood that will last the rest of their life.” After their win against Texas, ACU (24-5, 13-2 SLC) wasn’t taken lightly by the Bruin coaching staff and players. “They’ve got some kids that play unbelievably hard,” said UCLA head coach Mick Cronin. “I thought the key to today’s game was the fact that we did not take them lightly. We had tremendous respect for them, their coaching, their opponent and their players.” While the season has reached its end, the memories will last for the players, coaches and fans.
“It’s a special, special, special group of dudes, man,” Golding said. “They just have incredible attitudes, and it’s special. You can say what you want; It is what it is. Abilene Christian beat the University of Texas 48 hours ago, and that’s an incredible feat by an incredible group of men that will be remembered forever for it.” All players were granted a redshirt season with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and have the option to return next year. The Wildcats have five seniors on the team (guards Coryon Mason, Mahki Morris, Reggie Miller and Paul Hiepler and center Kolton Kohl) that contributed 36 points per game in the 2020-21 season. No announcement re-
garding their return has been announced, but Hiepler and Kohl are expected to forgo an extra season. Golding said after a long and tumultuous season filled with postponements and cancellations, he’s looking forward to time off before next season’s preparation. “I’m going on a road trip, my man,” Golding said. “Hopefully I can find some water and a beach. I’m going to take my wife, and we’re going to get away for a little bit and hit the pause button. We’ve got to hit the pause button a little bit and get some rest, but then we’ve got to recruit and we’ve got to continue to build our program.”
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