Abilene Christian tops McNeese 73-72 behind Ricks, Lewis

Jan 10, 2019, 03:45 am

LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Payten Ricks hit five 3-pointers, scored 19 points and had six assists, Jaren Lewis added 15 points with five assists, and Abilene Christian held off McNeese 73-72 on Wednesday night for coach Joe Golding's 100th career win.

Hayden Farquhar scored 12 off the bench and B.J. Maxwell added 10 points with three steals for the Wildcats (13-3, 2-1 Southland Conference), who shot 50 percent overall and led 39-36 at halftime.

James Harvey's 3 with 11:41 to go put the Cowboys up 55-54, but the Wildcats led 71-67 on Franklin's free throw with 40 seconds left. Harvey's 3 cut it to 71-70, but Lewis's two from the line made it 73-70 with 16 seconds to go. McNeese closed to the final score on Kevin Hunt's layup with nine seconds left. The Wildcats' Joe Pleasant missed two free throws from there and Hunt's 3 at the buzzer missed.

Harvey scored 17 points with five 3s for McNeese (5-11, 1-2). Roydell Brown scored 15 and grabbed 11 rebounds, Malik Hines scored 14 and Trey Touchet 12 with six assists.