Phoenix, AZ- Playing a Mustangs squad for the second game in a row saw the Firestorm return to their winning ways as they defeated the NCAA DII Western New Mexico Mustangs 78-50 on Wednesday evening.  Seniors Shy McClelland and Chris Sterling both scored 15 points.

Just 12 seconds into the game, Sophomore Patson Siame set the tone for the evening by grabbing his first of a game high 11 rebounds.  Seven seconds beyond the first rebound, Junior Matt Willkomm drilled a three pointer for a quick 3-0 ACU lead.

Over the course of the first six minutes of action, the Firestorm (6-1) built up to 16-9 edge.  McClelland scored seven points during the opening surge including a three pointer for ACU to reach 16 points.  Siame produced four points, three rebounds, and one block in that first 360 second span.

However, the Mustangs (1-10) countered back and forced six lead changes and four ties over the next nine and a half minutes.

Head Coach Jeff Rutter commented, "Early on, I think we let Western New Mexico dictate the pace of the game.  We were playing hard, but weren't very aggressive.  They were able to run their offense and had several uncontested jump shots."

Sterling went on a personal run of ten straight points in the closing moments of the half to move ACU from three down to seven up at 38-31 at the break.  Sterling connected for 12 points in the first 20 minutes.

ACU did not trail again in the game.  They used their defense to clamp off the offense of WNMU highlighted by a six plus minute stretch that held the Mustangs scoreless spanning the two halves.

The Firestorm took off from there eventually moving ahead by as many as 32 points.

Freshman Lawrence Combs had a big game as he scored a career high 12 points.  Willkomm concluded his effort with 11 points.  In all, 10 different Firestorm scored.

In the second half, ACU held WNMU to 33.3% or less in all three aspects of shooting including just 26.1% from the field.

Coach Rutter added, "The last 26 minutes of the game, we really played with great energy and finished with a pretty nice run (50-13 over a 24 minute stretch).  We were quicker to loose balls and got to the offensive glass and those really created some opportunities for us on a night were we didn't shoot particularly well.  I was impressed by the effort of our front court (Siame, Senior Steven Loucks, Junior Jason Smarr, and Combs).   They made a lot of positive things happen with their effort tonight."

On Saturday, the Firestorm will host Olivet Nazarene for a 5:00 pm matchup.