ABILENE - Five Wildcats scored in double figures led by
Jaren Lewis' 14 points and Abilene Christian ran away from Schreiner early in the second half, winning its season opener Friday night at Moody Coliseum, 73-59.
ACU shot 42 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc as back-to-back treys from
Hayden Farquhar midway through the second period pushed the Wildcats' lead to a comfortable 18 points after going into the break ahead by eight points at 35-27. A fast-break layup from
Isaiah Tripp followed Farquhar's buckets to give ACU its largest lead of the night at 56-36, and from there the Mountaineers wouldn't get any closer than 11 points.
Although the Wildcats led for 38 minutes tonight, the first half was incredibly close at times as Schreiner got to within one possession twice within the last several minutes. But after Keenan Gumbs buried a 3-pointer to get his team within three points at 24-21, the Wildcats scored the first two baskets coming out of the final media timeout to push their lead back to eight points at 29-21. Two more treys by Schreiner's Andrew Logan made it a four-point game with 1:27 to go, but the Wildcats responded with a Farquhar layup followed by a pair of free throws by
Jalone Friday.
Farquhar and Friday each scored 11 points off the bench. Farquahar knocked down three 3-pointers as part of a 4-of-8 performance to go along with six rebounds, while Friday – a redshirt freshman – made 3-of-6 attempts plus five free throws. He also had one of five ACU blocks and seven rebounds.
The Wildcats dominated the interior finishing with a +12 rebounding advantage, 43-31, and ripped down 17 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. They also scored 34 points in the paint with 14 of those coming on the fast break, and Schreiner's 14 turnovers were flipped into 17 points.
Senior
Jovan Crnic also was solid from 3-point range, hitting three of his long-distance attempts to finish with 13 points and four assists, and the reigning Southland Conference Freshman of the Year
Jaylen Franklin totaled 10 points with three assists and five boards. Lewis' 14 points came on 6-of-13 shooting with two free throws and seven rebounds, which tied Friday and
Hayden Howell for the team lead.
Howell additionally rejected three shots.
Gumbs led Schreiner in scoring with 15 points as he made 6-of-11 basket, including three 3-pointers. Wes Miller was second on the Mountaineers with 11 points.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday, Nov. 17 with a 7 p.m. game at New Hampshire.
