ABILENE, Texas— ACU answered a tough loss on Wednesday with a wire-to-wire win over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats opened the game on an 18-3 run, including four early threes, to set the tone. Corpus was able to make shots down the stretch, cutting the ACU lead to as few as two points but were never able to get any closer. The Wildcats stayed disciplined on defense, allowing just 56 points, to help lead them to a 12-point victory.
Key Plays
- ACU started the game with a bang on both ends of the floor, scoring 15 points in the first four minutes of action as well as notching two steals in that time frame.
- Trey Lenox hit a huge corner three to push the ACU lead to 15, 18-3, forcing an early Islander timeout.
- The Islanders closed the first half on a 9-1 run to bring the ACU lead down to single digits.
- Payten Ricks hit a three on the wing while drawing the foul and was able to complete the four-point play early in the second half.
- Just a couple plays later, it was Airion Simmons who hit a shot in the paint with contact to cash in on an and-1 play for himself.
- Both teams found themselves in the bonus with over 12 minutes left in the second half.
Turning Point
After the Islander cut the Wildcats' lead to two points with just over five minutes to go, the ACU defense locked in allowing just four points over the final five minutes of action.
Stat Pack
- Payten Ricks scored 13 points for his 12th game in double figures and his ninth game with three or more three-pointers made.
- The Wildcats forced 25 turnovers and tallied 14 steals in the game.
- The Islanders outrebounded the Wildcats 41-31
- Freshman, Airion Simmons had a career-high four steals.
- Kolton Kohl totaled 12 points on 3-6 shooting, including going 6-10 at the free throw line
- The two teams combined for 51 fouls in the game, with two players fouling out for the Islanders.
Up Next
The Wildcats will have a week off to prepare for Southeastern Louisiana. The men and women will ost another doubleheader next Saturday beginning at 4:30 p.m. for the women followed by the men at approximately 7 p.m.
