ACU Lassos Hardin-Simmons, Now 7-4 This Season

ABILENE - The ACU men's basketball team began its Christmas Break with a lopsided win over Hardin-Simmons, 93-62 on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (7-4) overwhelmed the Cowboys from the NCAA's Division III level with a 40-14 edge in the paint.

A Hunter Jack Madden tip-in highlighted a 9-0 ACU run that put the Wildcats in front 34-19 with 6:00 to go in the first half.

Two 3-pointers by Christian Alston and back-to-back buckets from Nasir DeGruy helped ACU to a 22-point halftime edge which ballooned to 34 late in the second half.
 
KEY POINTS

• Leading-scorer Christian Alston set a new career-high with 17 points, including three made shots from behind the arc. He also added 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Dontrez Williams dropped in 16 to tie his season-high which was set in the opening game against Howard Payne. Williams had 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
• Italian Leonardo Bettiol has now scored in double-figures nine of his ten games this season.
• ACU forced 21 turnovers resulting in 25 points. The Wildcats only had seven turnovers themselves.
• Each ACU player received quality playing time with every Wildcat in uniform logging at least 10 minutes.

 
A crowd of 1,065 saw the two Abilene colleges duke it out for just the second time since 1972. The Wildcats and Cowboys met on Dec. 16, 2020 at the Teague Event Center, but this was HSU's first time in Moody Coliseum since the arena's major renovations were completed in 2022.

NEXT UP
ACU plays the third of its six straight games against Texas schools when it travels to East Texas A&M (formerly Texas A&M-Commerce) on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. for the Tigers' Education Day.

Grant Boone has the radio call on 101.7 FM The Patriot beginning at 10:45 a.m.
 
NEXT HOME GAME
The Wildcats' next home game is Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. against Texas Southern. Click here to buy tickets.