Cats Top CBU for Third Consecutive Win

ABILENE – Abilene Christian never trailed and won its third consecutive game, 71-65, taking down California Baptist on Thursday.
 
It is ACU's first three-game win streak of the season and comes at a time when the Wildcats are fighting to reach the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The win on Thursday put the Cats in a tie for eighth in the league with five games remaining in the regular season.
 
Though neither team took off on big runs, ACU was able to build an eight-point lead by halftime and led by as much as 14 points in the second half.
 
"I think that might be the first time all year we've let start to finish," said ACU Head Coach Brette Tanner. "I told our guys at half time, it's a long game. This is a tough team, a really good basketball team. And they were gonna throw some haymakers at us, especially early, and they did. And I thought we withstood that. And we got up and we threw our own counter punch. And when we needed a bucket, we got one."
 
Airion Simmons, who had two points in the first half, led the team with 15 points and added five assists and two steals.
 
"I think Arion was fantastic tonight," Tanner said "He's been making plays and finding guys and kind of being that point forward for us. And he was really physical. He went in there and took a beating to start the half. I thought he kept his composure. I thought he was huge, but everybody stepped up."
 
Joining Simmons in double figures were Ali Abdou Dibba with 14 points, Hunter Jack Madden with 12 and Leonardo Bettiol with 11.
 
For Tanner, the third win in a row is a sign that the long-range methods he began talking about before the season are starting to pay off.
 
"It feels great and it makes these guys believe me," said Tanner. "We've continued to talk about that, just trusting the process, trusting the process. These guys continue to fight. Teams that are where we were at, maybe a week and a half ago, a lot of teams around the country shut down. Our guys don't stop fighting. They continue to play. That's always been our deal here, man. We don't stop fighting. I got a bunch of warriors in that locker room."
 
The warrior Cats square off with league-leading Grand Canyon at 3 p.m. on Saturday.