CEDAR CITY,
Utah – Abilene Christian won its fifth consecutive game and can clinch a postseason berth with a win on Saturday after beating Southern Utah 77-68 on Thursday.
The Wildcats were impressive with
Airion Simmons scoring 20 points to go with 12 rebounds and
Leonardo Bettiol scored 17 points with eight rebounds.
Ali Abdou Dibba added 10 points.
ACU was 3-9 five games ago and on the outside looking in before ACU won five straight, including three road games. The win on Thursday put the Wildcats in position to seal off a spot in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament with a victory Saturday night at Utah Tech.
The Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to SUU and dominated the glass 40-23. ACU scored 48 points in the paint.
ACU trailed only briefly in the first half and went into halftime with a 38-32 lead. The Cats scored the final five points of the first half and the first four of the second to build a 42-32 lead on the 9-0 run with 18:42 left in the game.
The Thunderbirds answered with a 7-0 run to pull within three points but couldn't get any closer.
Cameron Steele went on a personal 5-0 run to give the Cats a 60-50 lead midway through the second half. A three-point play by Bettiol put ACU ahead 71-58 with 4:46 remaining for its biggest lead of the night.
ACU used 12 offensive rebounds to build a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Kavion McClain led ACU with five assists.
ACU tips off at Utah Tech at 8 p.m. Central on Saturday.
