Silver City, NM- For the second year in a row, Arizona Christian beat NCAA DII Western New Mexico with their 81-74 win on Wednesday night.  Senior Matt Willkomm topped all scorers with 21 points.

The Firestorm (8-1) used a jumper by Junior Callum Lawson and three pointer from Senior Sam Finley to open the game with a 5-0 lead.  ACU then scored 11 of the next 13 points to build a 16-2 edge.  Freshman Johannes Menzel nailed a three pointer while Finley and Sophomore Lawrence Combs both scored four points.

Over the final 13 minutes of the first half, the Mustangs (2-10) chipped away at the ACU lead and used a three pointer in the closing seconds to get within one point.

Finley reached ten first half points- thanks to 4-6 shooting from the field (2-3 behind the three point arc).  Combs and Senior Andy Sessions each chipped in eight points.

WNMU made the first basket of the second half to take a 44-43 advantage which turned out to be their only lead of the night.

Back-to-back three pointers from Willkomm sandwiched around a Western New Mexico basket made the score 49-46.  The Firestorm stayed ahead until the 10:45 mark when the Mustangs tied the contest at 60-60.

Lawson turned a feed from Junior Carter Wilson into a 62-60 lead.  Despite a couple of ties, ACU did not trail the rest of the way.

A tie at 74-74 with 2:32 to go set up a potential fantastic finish.  But the ACU defense shutout WNMU from there as a 7-0 run sealed the win for Arizona Christian.

Willkomm, who scored just two points in the first 20 minutes, exploded for 19 points in the final 20 minutes including the last four points of the game at the free throw line.  Finley (13), Sessions (11), and Combs (10) all concluded the game in double digits.  Senior Patson Siame impressed with seven points, seven rebounds, and six blocked shots in just 14 minutes on the court- all in the second half.

The Firestorm will have a short turn around as they will host Westcliff back in Phoenix on Thursday for a 7:00 pm matchup.