ARLINGTON, Texas – Immanuel Allen hit a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime,
Mahki Morris and
Coryon Mason both had career nights, and the Wildcat men's basketball team got its first win of the season Tuesday night against the Mavericks of UT-Arlington. ACU (1-3) outscored UTA (1-2) 17-8 in overtime and held on for an 80-71 victory to secure head coach
Brette Tanner's first win at Abilene Christian.
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The End of Regulation
ACU led 58-57 at the under-four media timeout, and after both teams traded baskets, UTA went on a 4-0 run to lead 61-60 with 58 seconds to play. After a foul on ACU, the Mavericks missed the first free throw and
Reggie Miller got the rebound. Morris missed the ensuing jumper on the baseline, but ACU got it back.
Miller then drove with 30 seconds left and was called for an offensive foul to turn it back over to the Mavericks. UTA would then miss another free throw and the 'Cats had a chance to win it. Miller missed an attempt in the paint and UTA got the board with just six seconds left. This time after the foul, Jack Hoiberg made both free throws to put UTA up 63-60 with six seconds.
UTA fouled
Damien Daniels immediately, and the plan was to make the first and miss the second to try to tie it. Daniels missed the first attempt, however, and the ball was loose. Allen drew a jump ball on the baseline and gave the ball back to ACU with one more chance to tie it, still down three. On the inbound, Allen caught it awkwardly on the right wing, threw up a line-drive three-pointer, and drilled it at the buzzer to send the game to overtime tied at 63.
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Overtime
The momentum was completely with the Wildcats in OT. Leading 67-65, ACU continued to get stops and turned it into points. Morris scored a tough and-one in the paint to go up five, 70-65, and
Coryon Mason hit an even tougher acrobatic play in the paint for his own three-point play to put ACU up 75-68 with 48 seconds left. The dagger came on a hustle steal from Morris who turned it into a fast-break layup to put the icing on the cake. ACU walked away 80-71 winners at College Park Arena.
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Stat Pack
- Mason led the way with 21 points, matching his career-best, which he did against Lamar on Jan. 2, 2021. He hit five shots from the field, and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line. He added three boards and a pair of assists.
- Morris put together a career-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and went 7-of-8 at the line himself. He was one rebound shy of a double-double, and the nine boards is also a career-best.
- Allen tallied 11 points and hit both of his three-point attempts, while going 5-of-6 at the stripe.
- ACU went 29-of-38 at the free throw line.
- There were a ton of stoppages and whistles in the game. The final tally saw 55 total foul calls and 62 total free throw attempts.
- ACU outrebounded UTA 43-41, but once again the turnovers were the story. The 'Cats forced 28 turnovers, the most in a game since they forced 30 against Southeastern Louisiana on Jan. 16, 2021. It's the third-straight game to start the year with 20 or more turnovers forced.
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Cameron Steele hit two huge three pointers in the game and finished with six points. Daniels also finished with six.
- It is the first win of the
Brette Tanner era as he gets his first win as a Division I head coach.
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Up Next
- ACU will play in the Teague Special Events Center for the first time this season on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. when they welcome in the McMurry Warhawks from across town. The game will air on ESPN+. The team will then get on the plane for the Bahamas trip over Thanksgiving week.
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#GoWildcats
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