Box Score PHOENIX, AZ– Day three of the Arizona Christian University Firestorm Classic II saw another four great games, with the night being capped off with an 80-45 victory for the 19th ranked Arizona Christian Firestorm men's basketball team over the Huntington Foresters.
In game one, the Mid-America Christian Evangels met the Northern New Mexico Eagles. It was all Mid-America in the first half, as the Evangels shot 55% from the floor compared to just 28% for Northern New Mexico as the Evangels took a 30 point lead of 56-26 into the halftime break. In the second half, Mid-America continued their dominance against Northern New Mexico, outscoring the Eagles 44-39 enroot to a 100-65 victory. The Evangels were led in scoring by Ashlee Ferguson with 37 points on 13-of-27 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. With the win, Mid-America Christian improved to 8-3 overall, while Northern New Mexico falls to 9-7 overall.
Game two featured The Master's College men's squad against the University of Northern British Columbia. The Timberwolves from Northern British Columbia came out shooting on fire, as they went 11-for-20 from beyond the three-point arc and shot 58% from the field in the first half to take a 49-40 lead into the halftime break over The Master's College. The second half featured a lot of drama as The Master's College mounted a comeback; outscoring the Timberwolves 42-33 to force overtime tied at 82. In the overtime session, the shorthanded T'Wolves took control and outscored the Mustangs 14-9, to take the 96-91 victory. With the victory, Northern British Columbia improves to 4-9 on the season, while The Master's College falls to 3-7 overall. Michigan State transfer and current Mustang Russell Byrd led all scorers with 37 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field.
The Firestorm women's basketball team hit the court for the third game of the day to face the Huntington Foresters. ACU got off to a hot start, before cooling off towards the end of the first half; as they went to the locker room trailing the Foresters 30-26. ACU shot 46% from the floor in the first half, compared to just 36% for Huntington. In the second half, the Firestorm shot just 32% from the floor, while Huntington shot 46% to outscore the Firestorm 36-23; on their way to a 66-49 victory. With the win, Huntington improves to 11-2 overall, while the Firestorm fall to 4-11 overall. ACU was led in scoring by Taylor Blue, who had 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting with four rebounds and an assist.
In the nightcap, the 19th ranked Firestorm men hosted Huntington to close out play in the ACU Classic. It was all Firestorm in the first half, as they rolled to a 42-15 advantage at the half. In the first half of play, the Firestorm shot 51% (16-for-31) from the field, while Huntington shot just 21% (5-for-23) from the field. The Foresters had nine turnovers in the first half, to just three turnovers for the Firestorm. In the second half, ACU continued their dominance of Huntington, outscoring the Foresters 38-30 on their way to an 80-45 victory. With the victory, the 19th ranked Firestorm improve to 11-3 on the year, while Huntington falls to 11-4 with the loss. The Firestorm had five players score in double figures, with Sharif Watson leading the way with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with nine rebounds.
The Firestorm men will next be in action this Saturday and Sunday, when they host the University of California-Merced at the Fultz Memorial Gymnasium. Tip time for Saturday is scheduled for 7pm, with a schedule tip-off time set for 4pm on Sunday. Both Firestorm teams return to GSAC play on Tuesday when Concordia comes to town. The women will tip-off at 5:30pm, followed by the men at 7:30pm.
