ABILENE – After leading for almost the entire first 30 minutes, Abilene Christian dropped a tough one to Southern Utah on Saturday, 82-67.
The first half and early second half were a dogfight but ACU never trailed during that time. The teams were tied at 33-33 at intermission.
The Wildcats had small leads for the first five minutes of the second half and fended off runs until Jamari Sibley hit a three-pointer with 9:01 to go for the first SUU lead.
JV Seat got the lead back with a pair of free throws, 53-52, with 8:40 remaining but Sibley added a three-point play at the other end and the Thunderbirds never trailed again.
"We held the lead even though we weren't playing well," said ACU Head Coach
Brette Tanner. "I think when they finally took the lead on that and-one play, I felt like our belief went away. I could feel it in the huddle. I don't know what it was, because we've been playing with so much belief lately. We've been talking about warrior spirit and we've been playing with that. I have a great group of guys in that locker room. They're taking ownership and that gives me hope moving forward. They're not pointing fingers; they're not making excuses. And I do the same thing. I said, guys, 'I made a ton of mistakes today.' I'll go back and watch the film and see what they were."
Leonardo Bettiol had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while
Airion Simmons added another 14 points to go with eight boards.
Ali Abdou Dibba and
Hunter Jack Madden added a dozen points each with Dibba leading the team on defense with three steals.
The Cats return to action on Thursday, hosting Tarleton State at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised regionally on Space City Home Network.
