A quick start Saturday propelled the Wildcats over Southeastern Louisiana in Moody Coliseum, 76-55.
After the tip, ACU (10-7, 5-1 SLC) opened the game on a 17-4 run and never looked back as the Wildcats never trailed.
Head Coach Joe Golding was impressed by his team’s unselfishness passing the ball throughout the entirety of the evening.
“I thought the ball movement tonight was really good,” Golding said. “We’ve gone through a stretch the past couple weeks where we didn’t pass the ball as well. When the ball moves and everybody gets the opportunities, we hit the right shots.”
ACU also shot at the third highest clip of the season, going 27-51 (52.9%) and bringing in 32 points off the bench.
“I thought our bench was really good tonight too,” Golding said. “They’ve had the best week of practice they’ve had all year. They really challenged our starters this week, and it carried over into the game.”
The Lions (5-13, 2-5 SLC) also struggled to protect the ball all evening with 24 turnovers as ACU continued to swarm the ball into the second half.
All but one player scored as sophomore Joe Pleasant led the way with 12 points and seven rebounds on 5-11 shooting. Pleasant said postgame that Golding wanted them to be better than its competition.
“He emphasized throughout the week to not be average, be great,” Pleasant said. “He said that average teams win one or two in a row, but great teams can win on the road, and make championship plays.”
Senior guard Payten Ricks also scored in double figures with 10 points and three steals. With the early strides offensively, Ricks played just 19 minutes throughout the entirety of the game.
Golding said that spreading the ball out on offense helped his team come out on top Saturday, and they like to play unselfishly.
“It’s fun to play basketball like that,” Golding said. “It’s the way we want to play. We always want guys in multiple figures or close to it.”
Looking ahead, the Wildcats head on a three-game road trip. They get things started Wednesday at Huntsville against Sam Houston State (13-6, 6-2 SLC) at 7:30 p.m. Meanwhile the Lions play at McNeese (9-9, 4-3 SLC) Wednesday at 7 p.m.
