Men's basketball hits the road for Bakersfield

ABILENE – Abilene Christian men's basketball will head out on their final non-conference road trip of the season to face the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield. The two teams met for the first time last season when ACU earned the 69-59 win in Abilene. The Wildcats must now return the trip and will be up against one of the toughest defenses in the nation. CSUB is ranked in the top-20 of the country for both scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense, so the Wildcats will need find a way to operate efficiently on offense to come away with a key road victory. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. CAL ST. BAKERSFIELD

• ALL-TIME | 2nd meeting (ACU leads 1-0)
• LAST MEETING | Dec. 15, 2022, ACU W 69-59
• STREAK | ACU w1
• IN ABILENE | ACU 1-0
• IN BAKERSFIELD | n/a
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

ACU STORYLINES

• ACU FINDS SUCCESS BEHIND BALANCED SCORING | The Wildcats have had six games where five or more players have scored double figures. Both Allen and Cameron are averaging double-digits on the year and nine players are scoring at least five points per contest. 
• ALLEN LEADS WILDCATS OFFENSIVELY | Immanuel Allen has been a consistent offensive force for the Wildcats on the year. He was one of two Wildcats in double figures at Kansas State and has now dropped at least 10 points in six-straight games. Allen scored a new career-high 19 points in a win over Texas A&M-Commerce. Averaging 11.4 points per game to lead the team, he is also highly efficient leading the way with a .547 field-goal percentage and a .485 three-point field goal percentage on the year.
• PLEASANT MAKES HIS RETURN TO THE COURT | After his brief season debut in a home game against McMurry, Joe Pleasant saw his role grow during last week's road trip. He saw his minutes increase in Las Vegas and earned his first start of the season at Northern Arizona. He scored a season-high eight points and grabbed four rebounds against NAU, he also has recorded five steals in five games on the year. Pleasant had his best game of the season with 15 points against TAMUC while also making a big impact on the defensive end. 
• STEELE LIGHTS IT UP ON THE ROAD | Cameron Steele put together a solid week in Las Vegas and Flagstaff as he scored in double figures in all four games. He lit it up from the field shooting 62 percent over the four games while also shooting 57 percent from deep. He hit three or more threes in all but one game of the trip.
• CAMERON GOES FOR A CAREER-HIGH | Tobias Cameron was a bright spot for the Wildcats on opening night as he dropped 18 points to match a career-high in scoring that included going 4-7 from deep. He also grabbed six boards and had two blocked shots in a stellar performance to open his final season in Abilene.
• WILDCATS OPEN MOODY WITH A WIN | The Wildcats opened the 22-23 season with a win over Jackson State in the newly renovated Moody Coliseum. In front of a crowd of nearly 2,500 people ACU jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead behind a hot shooting start and a stifling defense. The team had to fend off a furious comeback attempt by the Tigers as the Wildcats struggled to find their offense in the second half, but came away with a 65-56 victory to start the season 1-0.
• DANIELS, CAMERON EARN 100 CAREER WINS | With the team's 93-46 win over North American on November 30, Wildcats' Tobias Cameron and Damien Daniels earned their 100th-career wins in an ACU uniform. The two have been a key part of the Wildcats success over the past four seasons, tallying 20-plus wins in each one.

SCOUTING CAL ST. BAKERSFIELD (4-5, 0-0 BWC)

• The Roadrunners are a stout defensive team holding teams to just 58.8 points per game. The team is ranked 16th in the NCAA for scoring defense and ranked 19th in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.9 percent shooting from the field.
• While CSUB gets  a lot of stops on the defensive end, they don't force many turnovers at just 13.9 forced per game. 
• Kaleb Higgins is the leading scorer for the 'Runners, the only scorer in double figures, averaging 11.9 points per game. He also leads the team in assists, dishing out 3.8 per game. 

Follow ACU Men's Basketball on Social Media
Twitter: @ACU_MBB | @ACUsports
Instagram: @acu_mbb | @acusports
Facebook: /ACUWildcatMensBasketball | /ACUSports

#TougherTogether | #GoWildcats