A strong all-around performance propelled the Wildcats to their fourth straight win in a 108-59 win over the Div. III University of Dallas Crusaders.
Head coach Brette Tanner and the Wildcats secured their third home victory in a row with five more home games coming this month. The Wildcats led throughout the entire matchup and never looked back.
The victory also sees the Wildcats extend their home winning streak to 17. The last home loss for the Wildcats dates all the way back to Mar. 3, 2020, in the 77-72 loss against Stephen F. Austin.
“I’ve said this before but coaching’s overrated,” Tanner said. “It’s all about the players. We have guys that came back for an extra year who did not come back to be average, they came back to be great. Every win we get is for them.”
Tanner and his team scored over 100 points for the first time this season. The Wildcats scored 27 points off of 18 turnovers while the Crusaders forced six turnovers and scored two off of those turnovers. Despite being a primarily defensive team, the Wildcats have shot over 50 percent in the past three matchups.
“The defense is always going to be there,” Tanner said. “If we can play defense and score off our defense then we’re going to have a chance to win every game we play.”
Six Wildcats scored double-digit points with senior guard Coryon Mason leading the pack with 19 of his own. Mason shot 6-7 from the floor, recorded four assists and a pair of rebounds.
“No matter who the opponent is I got to come out and be me and play the game like I always do,” Mason said. “My teammates were finding me when I was open and I was just doing what I could to help this team win.”
One Wildcat who continues to be a threat offensively is sophomore guard Logan McLaughlin. McLaughlin recorded 13 versus Schreiner and 14 versus Dallas.
“I think everybody saw that if I can get Logan McLaughlin on the floor that our offense gets better,” Tanner said. “He knows that we know that, and everybody in the stands knows that. He took some steps forward defensively in these three games that he has to continue to do to stay on the floor.”
No Wildcat has eclipsed 20 minutes of playing time due to the three games in five days something coach Tanner and his staff emphasized.
“That’s extremely hard to do,” Tanner said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a stretch like that in my career as a coach. We got to give a lot of guys a lot of minutes that didn’t play against the likes of Utah, [Texas] A&M, and UTA on the road. I feel like we some guys in this three games in a five-day stretch that can help us.”
Next up for the Wildcats is the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals. The Cardinals are a former Southland Conference foe and future Western Athletic Conference opponent. Last season, the Wildcats defeated the Cardinals 75-67 on Jan. 30 on the road and 85-60 on Mar. 6 at home.
“They’ve always been tough for us to guard,” Tanner said. “We’re going to have to really lock in these next three days and prepare for them. We’ve had some knockdowns against them in the past few years and I expect nothing less on Saturday.”
The fourth game in seven days for the Wildcats tips off at 3 p.m. Saturday against the Cardinals in the Teague Special Events Center and will broadcast live on ESPN+.
