The Wildcats fell to the Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders 79-56 Saturday night after a poor offensive performance, shooting 19-for-49 on field goals.
ACU came out strong, starting the game off with 6-0 run that forced MTSU to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Blue Raiders went on a 20-4 run to take the lead they never gave back.
The Wildcats cut the lead down to 11 near the end of the first half, but MTSU hit two back-to-back threes to go up 17. ACU’s Cade Hornecker, redshirt sophomore forward from Amarillo, hit a buzz-beater 3-pointer at the end of the half to give the Wildcats some momentum going into the second half.
ACU used the momentum and opened the second half with a 7-2 run forcing MTSU to call a timeout. After the Wildcats’ scoring run the Blue Raiders went on a 12-2 run of their own.
Head Coach Brette Tanner said that the cause of MTSU’s scoring runs was ACU’s turnovers. The Wildcats turned the ball over 19 times which led to 24 points for MTSU.
The number of turnovers was an improvement from the last game when ACU had 33 turnovers.
To try to stop MTSU from scoring as easily, Tanner switched to a zone defense in the second half.
“We were having a hard time guarding the basketball,” Tanner said. “So, I thought, well if we go to our zone, maybe we can stay in front of the ball. We did, and we got the shots we wanted, but we didn’t get a rebound.”
The Wildcats had a disappointing offensive performance with the leading scorer Joseph Venzant, senior guard from Midland, having only 10 points. He shot 4-6 on field goals and had six rebounds. Venzant got his first chance to showcase his talents after he played only eight minutes last game due to a shoulder injury.
“He grabs rebounds, he’s a good defender,” Tanner said. “He doesn’t get beat off the bounce because he knows his strengths and weaknesses.”
Throughout the night, ACU could not make shots, the Wildcats made only two 3-pointers. This has been a problem in the two games and the scrimmage the Wildcats have played so far. Against Howard Payne University they made only three.
Tanner said the key to making more 3-pointers will be to attack the rim and create more opportunities for Hunter Jack Madden, senior guard from Sydney, Australia. Madden was the best 3-point shooter on the team last season and shot 39% from three.
“If we’ll just continue to attack the rim, then that sucks the defense in, and then we get wide-open looks,” Tanner said. “And we just didn’t give it a chance long enough to get those open looks tonight.”
On Tuesday, the Wildcats will host a crosstown rival, McMurry University.
Tanner said the keys on Tuesday will be to take care of the basketball and apply some of the things that he tried in the second half of Saturday night’s game.
