In its first appearance on the hardwood, the Wildcat men’s basketball team played like it had been playing together since high school.
The offense put up triple digits in a 116-74 win against Baptist Bible College Tuesday night in Moody Coliseum.
“We came out with a hunger and a fire that I want to see the rest of this season,” said Head Coach Jason Copeland. “Coming into a game like that, we will be hard to beat.”
The ‘Cats achieved the fourth-highest point total in a season opener in ACU history, and they broke the 100-point mark for just the eighth time in a season opener. ACU jumped to an early 21-point lead — they hit six three-pointers they hit before Baptist hit its first three. Half of those were courtesy of Eddie Thompson, the top scorer in the game with 20 points.
Giordan Cole stood out as well on Tuesday. Cole played 14 minutes and posted a double-double — 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“[Cole] did a lot of things that he can do that will help us throughout the year,” Copeland said. “His play was very encouraging.”
Ben Wharton, Vladimir Gavranic and Kevin Smith also finished in double figures, with 15, 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Wildcats never trailed throughout the contest, but Copeland still found ways for his team to improve.
“We need to keep our defensive intensity in the game,” he said. “It was obvious our guys were ready to play, but we got a little too relaxed on defense. We also need to stop hunting for shots. We can’t do these things once we get into Lone Star Conference play.”
The Wildcats open their season with six consecutive home games, including the next two against Dallas Christian College at 5 p.m. Saturday and Hillsdale Free Will College at 7 p.m. Monday.
