Fullerton, Calif.-
Angelo Johnson led ACU with 20 points, and
Trent Hudgens added 16 points of his own, in a losing effort to OUAZ in the GSAC semifinals. For the first time in school history, ACU lost to OUAZ. ACU played without All-GSAC starters
Paul Hayden and
Bryce Davis.
Game Info
- Game score: OUAZ- 76, Arizona Christian- 66
- Records: Arizona Christian - 24-5 GSAC, OUAZ - 20-9 GSAC
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 2, OUAZ - RV
- Location: Darling Pavilion, Hope International University, Fullerton, CA
ACU Stats For The Day
Inside the Box Score
- The game was even to start
- OUAZ get off to a 10 point lead with 7 minutes left in the first half
- With 3:30 left in the first half the OUAZ went on a 12-2 point run
- The OUAZ led by 19 44-25 at half time
- Alex Vili led all scorers with 26 points in the first half
- Hudgens scored the first points of the half for ACU at the free throw line
- OUAZ never trailed in the game
- ACU got the game within 6 with 9:17 minutes left in the game
- OUAZ extended the lead to 13 points
- ACU never closed within double-digits for the remainder of the game
- The Firestorm shot 18-26 at the stripe and 39.6% from the field
Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"Tough one tonight. We did not execute defensively as well as we would have liked in the first half and it led to some easy baskets for them. I like the fight we had in the second half, but again we did not execute and had some errors when we cut the lead to six and it cost us. Our fundamentals have slipped a little bit. We will get back to practice and get better this week."
Up Next
The Firestorm will head to Arizona where they will host the opening rounds of the NAIA national tournament. The opening round games will occur in the ACU Events Center on March 7 and 8. Game times and matchups to be determined.
