ABILENE — The Wildcats returned home this weekend to host Texas A&M-Commerce for their annual Christmas Slam game on Saturday afternoon. ACU put together one of their most impressive games of the season in a wire-to-wire win over the Lions, 83-64. A made three opened the scoring for the Wildcats and they never looked back. Leading by as many as 26, Abilene Christian had five score in double figures and had the advantage in both paint scoring and points off turnovers. It was a true team win and the most complete the Wildcats have looked on the year.
Key Plays
- Hunter Jack Madden got the scoring starting with a three on the Wildcats' opening possession on a feed from Damien Daniels.
- Joe Pleasant finished a dunk off a feed from Madden to give ACU a 17-14 lead that sparked a 7-0 run.
- A baseline jumper from Ali Dibba gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead, 26-16 with eight minutes to play in the first half.
- A layup from Ja'Sean Jackson put ACU up 36-18 with 2:31 to play in the first half, matching the team's largest lead of the half.
- The Lions closed the half on 6-0 run to cut the Wildcat lead to 13 at the break.
- Commerce opened the half with a made three to get within 10 points.
- Daniels finished a layup and completed the three-point play to cap a 10-0 run over four minutes of action giving ACU a 20-point lead with 11:05 to play.
- Back-to-back steals from Madden and Immanuel Allen led to fastbreak layups the other way with Allen finishing a three-point play to give ACU a 26-point lead their largest of the afternoon.
Stat Pack
- Allen scored a career-high 19 points on an efficient 4-7 while also going 10-11 at the free throw line.
- Joe Pleasant had his first double-digit outing of the year with 15 points.
- Tobias Cameron, Madden, and Dibba each reached double figure scoring for the game as well. The Wildcats now have five games where five or more players have scored in double figures.
- Jackson did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats with five points, three rebounds, three assists, and a career-high four steals.
- ACU had their best game of the season at the line, going 21-24, their third game of the season shooting 80 percent or better.
Student-Athlete Interview
Coach Tanner Interview
Up Next
The team will have a week between games as they complete finals next week. ACU will head to Bakersfield, Calif. to face off with the Roadrunners on Dec. 15. The game will be at 9 p.m. CT streaming on ESPN+ and available to listen on the ACU Sports Network.
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