OREM, Utah — Point guard
Rich Smith spread around seven assists to push him over 200 for his time in an ACU uniform, but the Wildcats could not slow down a hot-shooting Utah Valley squad in the second half, losing 68-55 on Thursday night.
Smith, who now has 204 assists in his ACU career, passed Payten Ricks for 7th most in the school's Division I record book. Next in Smith's way is Jalen Little, who had 228 assists from 2014-16. The senior from the Bronx has now recorded six consecutive games with 5+ assists. The streak began with a season-high eight dimes in a win at UT Arlington on Jan. 10.
Neither team shot the ball well in an ugly first half as Utah Valley took a 26-24 lead at the break, tying for the fewest points allowed by ACU in the first half of a game this season. However, in the second half the Wolverines torched the nets by making 18-of-28 shots (64%) to finish with a shooting percentage above .500.
The Wildcats saw their deficit inflate in the second half as Utah Valley went on a 15-3 run to lead 64-38 with 6:09 remaining. ACU did score 17 of the game's final 21Â points from that point forward.
The result evens the season series between the two programs at one game apiece. The third regular season meeting is Feb. 28 in Orem.
STAT PACK
- ACU made ten 3-pointers for the second time in the last three games. The Wildcats were 10-of-18 behind the arc on Thursday for a season-high 55.6% clip.
- Zy Wright came off the bench to tie for a team-leading 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-3 on long balls.
- Cade Hornecker, a 7-footer from Amarillo, scored nine points and also grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists in 26 minutes of action.
- ACU and Utah Valley each forced 20 turnovers; the difference was who capitalized. The Wolverines outscored the Cats 26-14 in points off turnovers. That is the most points an ACU opponent has scored off turnovers this season.
- Entering Thursday, the Wildcats had been 8-1 when limiting their opponent to under 70 points. The only other time ACU has lost when allowing 69 points or fewer was a 63-49 loss at Texas State on Nov. 18.
- In an unusual stat, Rich Smith had all four of ACU's blocks. He entered Thursday with just five for the entire season.
UP NEXT
ACU fights to right its ship on Saturday against California Baptist in Riverside, Calif. The Lancers defeated the Wildcats 74-58 on Jan. 15 in Abilene. CBU is the hottest team in the WAC with a 7-game winning streak, including a 56-55 home squeaker over Tarleton State on Thursday.
Tipoff is 7 p.m. CT on Saturday with streaming coverage on ESPN+ and the ACU Sports Network.
