ABILENE — The Wildcats bounced back and grabbed a big win over Utah Tech on Saturday night in Moody Coliseum. After trailing by a bucket at the half, the Wildcats took control in the second half and pushed their lead to as many as 12 points. Utah Tech put together a 10-0 run to get back within two points with two minutes to play, but ACU got stops when they needed them and converted at the free throw line to secure the win. Abilene Christian's
Leonardo Bettiol had a breakout game in the win, scoring 17 points for a new career high. Three other Wildcats scored in double figures as well as ACU got their work done in the paint, outscoring the Trailblazers 46-28 inside.
Key Plays
- Leonardo Bettiol gave the Wildcats an early five point lead with an offensive rebound and a putback at the 14-minute mark in the first half.
- Damien Daniels ripped the ball away from the UT player and went the other way for a quick score in transition to give him his third steal of the game with 13 minutes to play in the first half.
- A three from the Trailblazers put them up 25-24 for their first lead since going up 7-6 early.
- Daniels put ACU back up by four points with a layup in transition with just over 2:30 to play in the second half.
- The Trailblazers scored the final bucket of the first half to give them the 40-38 lead heading into the locker room.
- After a 5-1 run from UT put them up by six early in the second half, ACU answered with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 45.
- Ali Dibba went on a 10-0 run by himself over a three-minute stretch that saw the team turn a three-point deficit into a seven-point advantage.
- An offensive rebound from Ja'Sean Jackson that fed to Joe Pleasant for a dunk gave ACU a 10-point lead with 4:39 to play.
- After ACU went up by 12 points on free throws from Pleasant, Utah Tech went on a 10-0 run in just under two minutes of action to make it a single-score game with 2:21 to play.
- Dibba made a driving layup with just over a minute to play to put ACU up 79-76, the Wildcats then got a defensive stop at the other end that allowed Airion Simmons to ice the game at the line.
Stat Pack
- Bettiol went for a career-high 17 points on an efficient 7-11 from the field.
- Dibba led the team in scoring with 19 points which matched a career-high for the sophomore. He drew a team-high eight fouls and went 9-11 at the free throw line.
- Daniels put together one of the best games of his career. He matched his career-best with 17 points while adding six rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
- After shooting just 52 percent from the charity stripe in the loss the GCU, the Wildcats bounced back to go 27-32, 84 percent, to help seal tonight's win.
- The Wildcats went 0-6 from three-point range. It is the first time in the program's DI history that the team failed to make at least one three in a game.
- It was a physical game that saw 53 fouls called and 52 trips to the free throw line between the teams.
Player Interview: Leonardo Bettiol
Player Interview: Joe Pleasant
Coach Tanner Interview
Up Next
The Wildcats will have a long way to travel next week as they head to Seattle U and California Baptist for a couple of tough road tests. The Wildcats will face the Redhawks first at Climate Pledge Arena, looking to grab a win over one of the top teams in the WAC.
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