Brette Tanner Post-Game Press Conference
ABILENE – Every year during a long college basketball season, a game will be decided by an unlikely hero who plays a key part in a tough, grind-it-out win.
Thursday night at Moody Coliseum, that hero was ACU sophomore forward
Cade Hornecker. His hard-nosed second-half play keyed a come-from-behind 75-59 win over Southern Utah in a Western Athletic Conference contest.
Hornecker scored eight of his season-high 10 points in a dominant second-half performance by the Wildcats. He added three rebounds and two steals in 12 second-half minutes off the bench, helping the Wildcats turn a 28-25 halftime deficit into a runaway victory.
The 7-footer from Amarillo played just four minutes in the first half but quickly entered the game in the second half in place of Leo Bettiol, who was 0 for 5 from the floor in the first half and scored one point. After the Wildcats got the lead at 31-30 on a driving layup by
Quion Williams, an offensive rebound and putback by
Bradyn Hubbard gave the Wildcats a 33-30 lead, forcing Southern Utah head coach Rob Jeter to call a timeout with 17:10 left in the game.
Hornecker entered the game 20 seconds later, and 20 seconds later, he made a jumper on a feed from Hubbard to push ACU's lead to 35-31. Over the next three minutes, Hornecker had a steal, two offensive rebounds, a second-chance basket, a made hook shot, and a steal that led to a fast-break layup by
Dontrez Williams that gave ACU a 47-35 lead with 12:42 left in the game.
Hunter Jack Madden buried a fast-break 3-pointer from the right arc at 12:20, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving the Wildcats a 50-35 lead. Hornecker had another defensive rebound a few seconds later, and that possession led to two free throws by Hubbard and an insurmountable 17-point lead (52-35 with 10:59 left).
Hornecker left the game in favor of Bettiol, but his work was done.
"The game changed when we put Cade on the floor," ACU head coach
Brette Tanner said. "He came in and did some great things that got us going. But give Leo a lot of credit for the way he handled it. He was a great teammate.
"At some point during every season, someone is going to have a moment like Cade had to win a big game," he said. "Cade didn't play much in the first half. He hasn't scored much recently. He's been struggling around the rim. But he was ready when we put him on the floor in the second half. We're stronger defensively when he's in the game because he can change shots with his length. And when he's making shots like he did on Thursday, it's a bonus. Cade played with great energy and enthusiasm, which we pride ourselves on. It was wonderful to see someone who works so hard and is such a great teammate step in and have a moment like that."
The Wildcats' second half was a total reversal from the first, during which they struggled to find their rhythm. Southern Utah (11-16 overall and 3-10 in the WAC) turned the first half into less-than-pretty basketball. The Thunderbirds limited ACU to 10 for 29 shooting, out-rebounded the Wildcats 22-13, recovered more loose balls, and generally out-hustled ACU.
As much as Hornecker did for the Wildcats in the second half,
Dontrez Williams kept the Wildcats in the game when they weren't playing well. The freshman from Sikeston, Missouri, scored four of his eight points in the first half, helping keep his team close.
That allowed Tanner to address his team at halftime with it only trailing 28-25.
"We had a great week of practice, but for some reason, we just didn't come out ready to play," Tanner said. "They beat us to every loose ball in the first half, and that's not how it's supposed to be here. We're meant to be the team that grabs every loose ball and wins with defense. We returned to that in the second half."
The Wildcats played more aggressively in the second half, starting with their defense. ACU forced 14 turnovers in the second half (27 for the game), reduced the rebounding deficit by out-rebounding Southern Utah 20-19, and outscored the Thunderbirds 25-7 in the first 7:40 of the second half, turning a three-point deficit into a 15-point lead.
ACU's fourth straight victory gets the Wildcats back to even on the season at 13-13 and one game under the break-even mark in the WAC (5-6). The Wildcats will go for a fifth straight win and a .500 conference mark Saturday at 6 p.m. when they host Utah Tech at Moody Coliseum. The Trailblazers lost to league-leading Utah Valley, 79-77 in overtime, Thursday in St. George, Utah, and will fly into Abilene on Friday for Saturday's game.
After the game against Utah Tech, the Wildcats have four games left in the regular season, all against teams ahead of them in the standings: next Thursday at fourth-place Tarleton State (6-6 in the WAC) and next Saturday at sixth-place UT-Arlington (5-7). They will then play Utah Valley (11-1) and second-place Grand Canyon (9-2) on March 6 and March 8, respectively, at Moody Coliseum.
A strong finish could still earn the Wildcats a spot in the league's top four. A third- or fourth-place finish would give them a bye into the tournament quarterfinals.
"This was a huge game because of what it sets up over the next couple of weeks going into (the WAC Postseason Tournament)," Tanner said. "Every game is important, but without winning (Thursday night), those upcoming games might not mean as much. Now we've got to get ready for Utah Tech on Saturday. Right now is when it matters. We're trying to play our best basketball at the end of February and the beginning of March, and we're starting to do that."
