ABILENE — The Wildcats earned a huge bounce back win at home on Saturday afternoon taking down Tarleton 69-63. The game lived up to its billing as a defensive slugfest with Abilene Christian winning the turnover battle and scoring 22 points off forced turnovers. The Texans held their ground throughout the game and each time the Wildcats built a small lead they were able to cut the deficit back to a one possession game. Tarleton hit a late three to get within three points with 23 seconds to play but
Joe Pleasant was able to convert one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game and ACU's defense made a big stop on the other end.
Damien Daniels made two free throws to push the lead to six and
Immanuel Allen tallied a steal at the last second to seal the win.
Key Plays
- After a 6-0 start by the Texans, Airion Simmons found Tobias Cameron in the corner for a three to put ACU on the board.
- Simmons then scored the next eight points for the Wildcats, including back-to-back threes, to give the team their first lead 11-8.
- Leonardo Bettiol made a turnaround jumper in the lane to put ACU up 22-18, their largest lead of the game, with 6:58 left in the first half.
- The Wildcats were held without a field goal over the final 5:08 of the first half but went 5-6 from the free throw line over that stretch to hold on to a one-point lead at the half.
- ACU opened the second half on a 7-0 including back-to-back buckets in the paint from Allen.
- After Tarleton cut the Wildcats' lead to one, Cameron grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to push the lead back to three with 11:30 to play.
- Simmons scored in the paint to put ACU up five and got the steal on the ensuing possession that led to a foul in transition to put Allen on the line with 44 seconds to play.
Turning Point
Immanuel Allen drew an offensive foul with the Wildcats up six and 39 seconds to play. The Texans forced a turnover and hit a three two plays later but ACU responded by going 3-4 from the line down the stretch and getting two defensive stops on the Texans' final two plays of the game.
Stat Pack
- Simmons had his best scoring outing of the year with 16 points and did a little bit of everything for ACU. He totaled five rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and an assist.
- Ali Dibba earned his first start of the season after a breakout game at SFA and put 11 points while grabbing four rebounds.
- Daniels had his first double-digit scoring outing since early in the season highlighted by a 7-8 performance at the charity stripe.
- The Wildcats forced 21 turnovers and were plus-five in the turnover battle. It was their first game forcing 20-plus turnovers against a DI opponent since the season opener against Jackson St.
- The team wen 22-31 from the free throw line to shoot over 70 percent from the line, much improved over the last two contests where they shot 54 percent or worse.
- The Wildcats have now won four-straight games against the Texans dating back to December of 2020.
Up Next
ACU will have their first bye of the conference season on Thursday and will have a full week to prepare for a tough Southern Utah team. The Thunderbirds opened WAC play 2-0 earning a win over NM State on the road and a home win over UTRGV. The game tips at 6 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
Follow ACU on social media:
Twitter:
@ACU_MBB |
@ACUsports
Instagram:
@acu_mbb |
@acusports
Facebook:
/ACUWildcatMensBasketball |
/ACUSports
#GoWildcats | #TougherTogether
