ABILENE—The 2018-19 Southland Tournament Champion Wildcats got their title defense campaign underway on Tuesday night in Moody Coliseum. Among a crowd of almost 1,500 raucous fans, the Wildcats showed that they are not to be underestimated despite losing four starters and 73 percent of their total offense from a season ago. After unveiling their conference championship banner, ACU was able to dominate defensively while capitalizing on their size advantage inside en route to a 90-39 victory to open their season.
Key Plays
- Defense was the name of the game for the Wildcats as they held the Patriots scoreless through the first 10:31 of the game.
- Kolton Kohl scored nine of the team's first 18 points including back-to-back dunks midway through the first half.
- Trey Lenox locked down on defense with a steal and a dunk to put the Wildcats up 24-5 with 7:38 left in the first half.
- Damien Daniels carried his solid play from the end of last season to this season including a steal and fastbreak layup to help extend the lead to 25 points.
- Late in the second half, Paul Hiepler helped keep the crown in the game as he hit three huge threes.
Turning Point
The Wildcats controlled the game's momentum from the first tip allowing their defense to control the game. ACU held the Patriots to just 12 total shot attempts in the first 10 and a half minutes while also holding them scoreless.
Stat Pack
- Kolton Kohl scored 21 points, going 10-of-13 from the field, in just 17 minutes of action.
- Clay Gayman scored 14 points off of the bench for a new career-high.
- Newcomers, Coryon Mason and Mahki Morris, swiped four steals each in their Wildcats debut.
- Paul Hiepler went 3-of-5 from three-point range for a new career-high in points and made threes.
- The team shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Patriots to just 19.2 percent shooting.
- After shooting 38.1 percent from three-point range as a team a year ago, the Wildcats shot just 22.2 percent tonight from three.
Gold Mine
Up Next
The Wildcats have a tough road trip ahead as they go to Philadelphia to face the Drexel Dragons. The teams will meet Sunday, November 10, at 2 p.m. eastern. The game will be streamed on FloSports and you can follow along with the trip and in-game updates on Twitter and Instagram at @acu_mbb.
