STEPHENVILLE, Texas – A tie game at halftime turned into a Wildcat runaway win in the second half Saturday night at Wisdom gym as ACU picked up its sixth straight victory, topping Tarleton 77-63. The Wildcats (17-7, 8-5 WAC) scored the final four points of the first half to get it tied, and opened the second half on a 13-1 run to pull away. Tarleton made it a game with 10 minutes to play, but a two-point lead blossomed to 12 with the snap of a finger as ACU ran way with a 14-point win. Five players finished in double figures as ACU won the first conference game with Tarleton since the 2012-13 season.
Turning Point: The open to and the middle of the second half.
The Wildcats opened the second half on a 13-1 run.
Coryon Mason buried a pair of three-pointers,
Cameron Steele scored inside,
Tobias Cameron hit a pair of foul shots, and all of a sudden the lead was nine, 47-38. Steele then hit from the outside to lead by a dozen at the 15:37 mark. After Tarleton clawed its way back to make it a two-point game at the 9:52 mark, it took just two minutes to go back up 13 points.
Reggie Miller buried a trey,
Airion Simmons sunk free throws, Miller converted in the paint, and Simmons scored on two-straight possessions. The lead was back out to a baker's dozen, and the game would not be that close again.
Key Plays
- 1H 19:34 | Simmons drained a three to get the scoring started.
- 1H 10:33 |
Damien Daniels weaved through defenders to cut the lead to two, 21-19.
- 1H 0:00 |
Mahki Morris got a finger roll to go at the buzzer to tie the game at 37.
- 2H 16:58 | Another three from Mason pushed the lead to seven, 45-38.
- 2H 9:16 | After Morris missed a three, Cameron got an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Miller, who drained a three.
- 2H 5:31 | Morris went back door for a dunk that rolled around and dropped in to push the lead to 12, 69-57.
- 2H 0:26 | ACU used clock, and Mason found Steele for the final touches with a two-hand jam.
Stat Pack
- ACU forced 15 turnovers in the game, and scored 24 points off them in the game.
- ACU shot 50.8% for the game, the eighth time this season the team shot at least 50% from the field.
- Simmons led the way with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and led the way with seven rebounds.
- Miller had his first double-digit scoring game since Jan. 20, finishing with 13 points on three long balls, added five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
- Steele dropped in 11 points with three boards.
- Mason and Cameron each added 10, with Mason dishing out four helpers.
- ACU held Tarleton to just 29% shooting in the second half.
Up Next
ACU heads to Huntsville, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 17 for its rematch with Sam Houston. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will air on both ESPN+ and 102.7 The Bear.
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