ABILENE, Texas— In their return to Moody after a three-game road trip, the Wildcats put up another solid defensive performance holding the UIW Cardinals to just 58 points. UIW put the first points on the board but it was all Wildcats from there as they pushed their lead to 12 points just seven minutes into the game. ACU kept a comfortable lead throughout the game and their defense ensured that the Cardinals were unable to stage a comeback. Three different Wildcats scored in double figures and ACU coasted to a 72-58 win.
Key Plays
- Payten Ricks hit a three just three minutes into the game and set the tone for his dominant night hitting five threes and scoring 18 points.
- Clay Gayman had a three and a tough contested layup in a span of three minutes that pushed the Wildcats lead to 10 points.
- Joe Pleasant followed Gayman with a three from the top of the key that put the team up 13 points and had the Wildcats start 4-5 from three.
- Damien Daniels closed the first half with a running jumper to beat the buzzer to give ACU the 11-point lead going into the half.
- Ricks hit his fifth three points of the night with 16 minutes left to play in the second half to give the Wildcats a 13-point lead.
- Gayman closed the game with a monster dunk in the lane to give the Wildcats their 14-point victory.
Turning Point
The Wildcats went on a 13-1 run early in the first half pushing their lead to 12 and never looked back. The Cardinals were never able to get going offensively and trailed by double digits for most of the game.
Stat Pack
- Joe Pleasant led all scorers with 19 points on 6-10 shooting.
- Ricks hit five threes, tying a career-high for makes in a game, his eighth time doing so in his career.
- Clay Gayman brought energy off the bench from the start, scoring 15 points on 5-9 shooting and grabbing three rebounds.
- The Wildcats learned their lesson after the 27-turnover performance at SFA, totaling only 10 turnovers in the game.
- The Wildcats held the Cardinals to just 14.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc, UIW had just two made threes on the night.
- Reggie Miller led the Wildcats with three steals and the team forced 18 total turnovers.
- The two teams combined to miss 17 free throws, both shooting under 70 percent for the game.
Up Next
ACU will hit the road once again to head to Natchitoches, La. to face Northwestern State on Wednesday night. The teams will tip at 6:30 p.m., you can tune in to the radio broadcast on 98.1 The Ticket.
