Box Score ANGELO, Tex. – The Western New Mexico University men's basketball team pulled to within nine of Division I Abilene Christian University midway through the second half when the Wildcats went on to defeat the Mustangs, 62-44, Friday night.
"Defensively we played a solid game," first-year head coach
Jeff Law said. "We are just having a very difficult stretch shooting the ball right now."
The Mustangs shot 34.7 percent from the floor, but shot well from beyond the arc hitting on 10-of-22 (45.4).
ACU (1-5) started on a 5-0 run until
CJ Grigg (Reno, NV/) opened the scoring for WNMU (0-2) at the 17:45 mark by connecting on a jumper. Following a layup by
Brelan Berry (Chandler, AZ/Basha High School) off the fastbreak to make it a 7-4 contest, the Wildcats would go on a 15-0 run to take a 22-4 lead with four minutes to play in the first half.
Steven Loucks (Yuma, AZ/Cibola) helped trim the deficit to 13 near the break with a jumper, before ACU closed the scoring with a jumper at the buzzer for a 30-15 lead at halftime.
After trailing by 19 just over three minutes into the second half, WNMU went on a 10-0 run. Berry started the run splitting a pair from the line. Loucks added a jumper in front of
Adam Kesler (Silver City, NM/Silver) scoring five straight points with a layup in transition and a three leaving the Mustangs down by just 11. Berry closed the run with a dunk for a 39-30 ACU lead.
The Wildcats came back with a 5-0 run, only to see WNMU come back with a 4-0 run with a jumper by Grigg and a pair of free throws from Loucks for a 44-34 ACU lead with nine minutes to play.
Each time WNMU would get close, the Wildcats would answer back with another 5-0 run on their way to the 18-point victory.
Loucks led all-scorers with 18 points, making 7-of-10 from the field. He also had a block and three steals. Grigg added nine, while Kesler chipped in eight. WNMU also forced 21 ACU turnovers, while only committing 13.
WNMU will play Angelo State Saturday night with gametime set for 6 p.m. Mountain Time.
