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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Onakpoma drive
Khaxil Stewart
67
Justice JC 0-2
81
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 1-0
Justice JC
0-2
67
Final
81
Arizona Christian ACU
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Justice JC 35 32 67
Arizona Christian ACU 40 41 81

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Tim Gooszen

Onakpoma Leads No. 6 Firestorm In Opener

Glendale, Ariz.- On Friday afternoon, NAIA ranked number six Arizona Christian started a little slow but found their groove and beat Justice in their 2024-25 opener.  Ese Onakpoma, making his ACU debut, topped all scorers with 19 points to lead the Firestorm to the win. 

Game Info
  • Game score: Arizona Christian- 81, Justice- 67
  • Records: Arizona Christian- 1-0, Justice 0-2
  • NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian- 6, Justice- not NAIA
  • Location: ACU Events Center, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

ACU Stats For The Day
Inside the Box Score
  • Over the course of the first 11 points the teams exchanged two lead changes and three ties
  • The next eight minutes saw the Lions extended out to a 25-13 lead for their largest advantage
  • But a 14-0 run capped by a three pointer from Dunkle and dunk by Tucker Molina gave the Firestorm the top score
  • ACU built as large as a 7 point edge in the final five plus minutes of the half
  • Onakpoma (14 points) was the player to reach double figures in the first 20 minutes
  • The first 90 seconds of the second half was Nicholas show as he accounted for a personal 6-0 run
  • His last two points of his run gave ACU a double digit edge that they maintained through the final whistle
  • While the turnover battle was pretty even (JC -21, ACU -18), the Firestorm out scored the Lions 33-16 in points off turnovers

Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"We did not come out aggressive enough defensively, kind of let Justice push us around. We finished the half well and did a nice job defensively.  In the second half we were not quite as patient as we need to be on offense.  We gave them way too many extra possessions, but it was great to finally play somebody else.  We have not had our full team together for much of the preseason and it was good to play together for the first time this year."

Up Next
Day two of the Fultz Classic will see ACU face off with La Sierra on Saturday.  The teams are scheduled for a 6:30 tip-off.
 
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