Saturday afternoon the ACU men’s basketball team scored a season high ninety-six points on their way to a 39-point rout of the Arlington Baptist Patriots.
The Wildcats started off the game with a three pointer by Kendall Durant and never gave up the lead. ACU was cold-blooded from three-point land over the weekend, shooting nearly fifty-five percent from behind the arc.
“It was good for us to get out there and play hard going into Midwestern,” senior Zach Williams said. “We got to see the ball go in the whole a lot today, so it was good for us.”
Arlington Baptist was also out manned in the paint and gave up tons of layups and open looks from close range. This allowing the Wildcats to outscore the Patriots forty-two to twelve in the paint.
“It was good for us to get our big guys going today,” Williams said. “We are going to need them to play well.”
The Wildcats continued the trend of first half dominance at Moody Coliseum, heading into the locker room with a 52-25 lead because defense lead by point guard Antonio Bell.
Bell also took over the game on the offensive end, scoring twenty points, including four shots from deep, and only missed one shot in the entire game.
“I think I am right where I want to be,” Bell said. “I have a lot of improvements I could make to help the team more but I am playing well.”
Zach Williams and Eric Kibi were also able to get into double figures, with fourteen and sixteen points respectively. What may be even more impressive is that each of the eleven Wildcats scored at least four points against the Patriots.
In the second half, freshman Da-Juan Cooper stole the show with eight points on four dunks. Cooper rose above the Patriot defense and brought Wildcat fans to their feet with every rim rattling jam.
“I love it when the crowd gets excited,” Cooper said. “It wasn’t just me getting open, it was the point guards having confidence that I can go up and get it.”
The Wildcats will put their two game winning streak on the line Tuesday night in Moody Coliseum when they return to LoneStar Conference play against the Midwestern State Mustangs at 7:30 p.m.
