By Joel Weckerly, Sports Editor
The 1-0 men’s basketball team hopes to extend its home winning streak to three games this weekend when it plays host to the Quality Inn-ACU Tipoff Classic in Moody Coliseum.
ACU welcomes cross-town university McMurry, Paul Quinn College and Southwestern Assemblies of God to the invitational, which kicks off 4 p.m. Friday with McMurry playing SWAG. ACU plays Paul Quinn 6 p.m. Friday and SWAG 4 p.m. Saturday.
After a 21-point win over Texas-Permian Basin in which they let up late in the second half, the Wildcats plan to play this weekend’s invitational with plenty of energy, head coach Klint Pleasant said.
“That game was a wake-up call for us,” Pleasant said. “It showed us that we can’t take the night off. We just want to play with a lot of intensity; that’s the biggest thing.”
Junior forward Tucker Pierson, who recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds against UTPB, said the Wildcats have yet to get in a groove because lack of team chemistry.
“Our biggest problem is not playing together enough,” Pierson said. “We’ve only had 20-something team practices, but once we get more experience together, we’ll be fine.”
ACU’s first opponent this weekend, Paul Quinn, is a member of the NAIA Red River Athletic Conference. The Tigers are XXXXX so far this year.
“I’ve seen them on film, and they’re quick and athletic,” Pleasant said. “Two out of the four games I watched, they played a lot of zone [defense].”
Pierson said ACU’s offense will make some adjustments in attacking in the zone.
“It’s a different look going up against the zone,” he said. “With a zone, you try to penetrate and kick it out to shooters, which we obviously have. We’ll have to rebound well, too.”
Southwestern Assemblies of God also competes in the RRAC, and is 0-3 going into the weekend. Senior guard Derrick Willis leads the team with 17 points per game. Before the season began, Willis ranked eighth all-time for SWAG with 55 career three-pointers made.
“I know that they’re a good perimeter shooting team,” Pleasant said.
Pleasant said he likes the fact that ACU’s first three games are all at home.
“I think it’s important to play in front of your own people when you’re trying to rebuild your program,” he said. “That’s a big reason we have these two classics.”
ACU’s other four-team invitational, the ACU Christmas Classic, is December 19 and 20 in Moody Coliseum.
