ABILENE—After a win on the road over the preseason conference favorite to open Southland play, the Wildcats were able to return home to face a tough Nicholls team. Nicholls earned a comeback win over A&M-Corpus Christi in their opener and had one of the best non-conference stretches in the Southland. The Colonels earned a win at Pitt, but also played with Illinois and LSU in close losses. ACU would not let any of that intimidate them as they came out swinging in the first half and dominated in a 79-61 win.
The Wildcats were locked in from the first tip and were able to open up a 12-2 lead through the first five minutes of action. They put together a solid defensive effort in the first half, forcing 13 turnovers including six steals. ACU played some of their best basketball as they were able to force the ball inside and had 17 assists to just eight turnovers in the first half as well. The Colonels came out ready to push back in the second half and were able to cut the ACU lead to as few as seven before the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run themselves to put the game out of reach for good. The Wildcats pushed their lead as high as 24 before trading buckets down the stretch and securing the 18-point victory.
Key Plays
- ACU started the game with a 12-2 run, including forcing four turnovers in that span.
- The Wildcats scored 34 of their 47 first half points in the paint.
- Both Airion Simmons and Reggie Miller hit key threes in the first half to help keep the Colonels at bay.
- The Colonels opened the second half on a 14-4 run
- ACU answered Nicholls with an 11-0 run that included Payten Ricks going 6-6 from the free throw line
Turning Point
After allowing the Colonels to cut the lead to single digits in the second half, the Wildcats held Nicholls without a field goal for over seven minutes while on a 17-4 run.
Stat Pack
- Kolton Kohl scored a career-high 22 points, passing his previous career-high of 21 points set against Arlington Baptist earlier this season.
- Despite not having a great shooting night, Ricks still scored in double digits including going 8-9 from the free throw line.
- The Wildcats outscored the Colonels 50-26 in the paint.
- ACU was able to hold Dexter McClanahan and D'Angelo Hunter to just five combined points, the pair were averaging a combined 26.6 points on the season.
- 10 different Wildcats scored including totaling 25 points off the bench.
- Nicholls got to the free throw line 30 times while ACU went there just 19 times in the game.
- ACU totaled 22 assists on 30 made baskets.
Gold Mine
On his team's solid start to the game: "I thought the way we came out in the first half was the best basketball we have played all season. We were locked in defensively and we did a great job of getting the ball into the post where we had success."
On facing a tough Nicholls team: "Nicholls had one of the best non-conference seasons in the conference outside of SFA's win over Duke. They beat Pitt, took Illinois to overtime, and kept within 10 points of LSU. This was a team that has been grinding out great games all season and for us to get this win at home after a win on the road at UNO, it is a great start to our conference play."
On Kolton's big game: "I feel like Kolton is possibly the most improved player in our league. He has worked hard all summer and this season to gain weight and enhance his skill around the rim, coach Decker has done a great job with him. I think he has some of the best moves in the paint for a seven-footer in the conference and he is putting in the work everyday to get better."
Up Next
The Wildcats will be off through Christmas before they head on the road for their final non-conference game of the season. The team travels to Wichita to take on the Shockers of Wichita State on Sunday, December 29, at 2 p.m.
