CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— ACU earned their third-straight win, and 10
th Southland Conference victory, with a 78-64 performance to take down the Islanders of A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders took the opening tip but almost tossed it out of bounds, having to save it back into the court where
Coryon Mason got a steal and the easy layup to start the game. That play set the tone for the night as the Wildcats held their own defensively and capitalized opportunities in the paint on offense.
Southland Significance
The top teams in the conference continue to win against the lower competition in the league and the top four teams remain the same. ACU still sits a half game back of Nicholls, while holding the half game advantage over Sam Houston State. The Wildcats still have games against the Bearkats and the first-place Lumberjacks of SFA at home.
Key Plays
- Mason's opening steal and layup set the tone for the game.
- After the Islanders took a 5-4 lead, Joe Pleasant hit a layup and drew the foul to give ACU a 7-5 lead and the Wildcats never trailed again.
- A steal and layup from Payten Ricks put the Wildcats up eight and also gave Ricks the points he needed to surpass the 1,000-point mark for his career.
- The Wildcats held an 11-point lead at the half without having a made three in the first half.
- The Islanders' Jashawn Talton-Thomas scored six-straight points for AMCC over a two-minute stretch to open the second half. The Wildcats held him scoreless for the rest of the game.
- Reggie Miller hit two clutch buckets in the paint late in the second half to keep the Islanders at bay.
Turning Point
The Wildcats went on a 23-8 run in the first half that pushed their lead to 14 and they never relented lead.
Stat Pack
- The Wildcats went just 1-13 from deep, but went 25-33 from inside-the-arc.
- Both Ricks and Mason totaled four steals on the night, the team had 12 for the game.
- Pleasant scored in double figures for his seventh consecutive game.
- ACU went to the free throw line 32 times making 25 of their 32 attempts.
- The Wildcats had a minus-4 rebound margin in the first half and came back with a plus-6 in the second half to outrebound AMCC for the game.
- ACU outscored AMCC in the paint 44-22.
Up Next
ACU will be on the road all of next week as they travel to Houston to see the Huskies of Houston Baptist for the second time in a week and then head over to Louisiana to face the Lions of SLU. The men's game on Wed., Feb 19, in Houston tips at approximately 7 p.m., immediately following the women's game.
