RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Another dominant second half for Abilene Christian led them to a sweep of their West Coast trip with an 87-71 win over California Baptist. The Lancers jumped out to as much as an 11-point lead in the first half behind a hot shooting start, but ACU was able to chip away at the lead.
Airion Simmons used 13 first-half points to get the Wildcats within one point at the half, 39-38. Ali Dibba grabbed a rebound and went the length of the floor for a transition bucket that gave the Wildcats a 41-39 lead and they never trailed again. ACU held the Lancers to 36 percent shooting in the second half and 11 percent from deep to lock down CBU to earn their third-straight win.
Key Plays
- The Wildcats were held scoreless over the first four minutes of action before Dibba drove to the hoop for a layup.
- Simmons hit a three from the top of the key to cut the CBU lead to 8-6 early in the first half.
- A dunk from the Lancers gave them their largest lead of the game, 21-10, with 7:52 to play in the first half.
- Back-to-back threes from Simmons cut the Lancer lead to three points with just over four minutes to play in the first half.
- Ja'Sean Jackson hit a three just before the close of the half to get the Wildcats to within one at the break.
- The Wildcats opened the half on a 5-0 run to open a four-point lead.
- Damien Daniels hit a bucket in the paint and drew the foul to push the ACU lead back to four with 13:22 to play.
- ACU put together an 18-5 run, holding CBU without a field goal in the stretch, to open a 14-point lead with six minutes to play.
- With the Lancers applying pressure in the backcourt, ACU broke the press and found Tobias Cameron open down the floor for an easy basket in transition to keep the Wildcats lead in double digits, 84-70.
Stat Pack
- Hunter Jack Madden had his best scoring game of the season with 17 points on 3-5 shooting and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line.
- Damien Daniels continues his scoring tear, matching his career-high with 17 points, he has scored 15 or more points in four of their last five games. He also has at least four steals in three-straight, his next steal will set the ACU program record for all-time steals.
- Simmons scored 16 points on the night going 4-6 from deep. It is his third game of the season with four threes.
- The Wildcats had the advantage 17-12 in points off turnovers and 11-5 in fast break points. The team also had a 30-29 rebounding advantage, their third-straight game outrebounding their opponents.
Up Next
ACU will have a bye this coming Thursday and will play again on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they host Sam Houston at 6 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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