ACU (8-5) continued its December dominance on Wednesday after taking home a 113-52 win against the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets (2-10,0-6) to finish off non-conference play.
With the win, ACU finished its non-conference slate with eight wins, on a three-game winning streak and earning wins in six of the last seven games.
In their eighth win of the season, the Wildcats got out on a hot start in the first half and never looked back. The team finished with 61 first half points, contrary to their 15 first half point performance against their previous game on the road against CSU-Bakersfield. ACU finished shooting 67 percent from the field, while holding HPU to 37 percent from the field. Heading to the locker room, the Wildcats had a 61-29 lead.
The second half saw more of the same from the Wildcats, with the team finishing the game shooting 56 percent from the field and 37 percent from the 3-point line. On the other side, ACU held HPU to a total of 30 percent from the field and 17 percent from the 3-point line.
The Wildcats caused the Yellowjackets to commit 26 turnovers while scoring 30 points off the visiting teams mistakes. ACU also dominated inside earning 58 paint points and outscored the Yellow Jackets 24-2 in second chance points.
Another standout for ACU was bench points, with 58 of ACU’s points coming from the bench. every single player on the Wildcats roster scored in the Wednesday night matchup, while six players for ACU scored in double digits. Those six players include the following:
- Graduate guard Tobias Cameron; 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists
- Junior forward Cameron Steele; 12 points, 5-9 shooting and seven rebounds
- Senior forward Joe Pleasant; 11 points, 5-6 shooting and five rebounds
- Senior forward Airion Simmons; 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks
- Freshman guard Ja’Vion Seat; 11 points, 3-5 shooting and two steals
- Sophomore guard Ali Abdou Dibba; 10 points, 5-6 shooting and two steals
Up next, the Wildcats start conference play with a road test against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. ACU earned the last win in the matchup between the two teams, with the Wildcats earning a 76-62 win in Las Vegas, Nevada during the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament.
The Wildcats and Lumberjacks will begin their conference journeys in Nacogdoches in the William R. Johnson Coliseum on Jan. 29 at 6:30 CST with the games streaming on ESPN+ and ACU Sports Network.
Quotes from head coach will be added following Monday’s press conference.
