Mesa, AZ- Any coach will tell you that being able to win the ugly games is crucial is to a successful game. Tonight's game was a great lesson in that. Shy McClelland had 18 points, Mishima Gray had 17 points, and the Firestorm (5-0) took down their crosstown rival Benedictine (4-7) 92-81. 

Despite a 50 point win earlier this season, the Firestorm knew that they were going to be in for a fight against Benedictine. While they never trailed after taking a 10-8 lead in the first half, the Firestorm were never quite able to put the Red Hawks away as they kept battling back. Behind 18 points each from Robert Kincade and Monnard Brown, the Red Hawks we're able to cut the lead down every time the Firestorm looked to be on the verge of pulling away. Coach Jeff Rutter felt this had more to do with his team's defensive execution than anything else.

"They stayed in the game because defensively we were not where we needed to be" he explained, "they were getting to the rim way too easily and that is something we are going to have to correct".

But with his team being young, Rutter was also happy to finally get some experience in a close game.

"We really haven't had a lot of chances for guys to learn how to win the close games, and that's crucial to having success in conference play" Rutter said, "We definitely made some mistakes, and bone head decisions, but definitely stuff we can learn from and use to improve ourselves"

The early minutes of the game were very low scoring, as both teams struggled to get into rhythm. McClelland scored the first Firestorm points of the night, and from there it was off to the races. With Gray filling in for leading scorer Chris Sterling, he as well as other guys on the team showed just how dangerous this team's depth can really be.

"We have a number of guys who can step up when called upon" Rutter said, "Mishima is one of our toughest guys, brings it consistently, and played tonight like he practices. I see him gaining confidence, and he's going to play a big role down the stretch for us"

After the Red Hawks took an 8-6 lead, the Firestorm used two jumpers by McClelland and an "and 1" three-point play by Lawrence Combs to go on a 7-0 run and take the lead for good 13-8. The Firestorm managed to build themselves a 22-14 cushion, sparked by a Jason Smarr three-pointer, but started to get a little complacent on offense going cold for almost three minutes after that. The Red Hawks used this to go on a run of their own, cutting the lead to 22-21 midway through the first half. This caused a frustrated Rutter to call a timeout and get his team back on track. With Rutter urging his team to get back to playing their style, and get the most out of possessions, the Firestorm took his message to heart and responded with a 13-0 run.  The closing minutes of the half saw the Red Hawks go on another run and ultimately cut the lead to 42-36 at the half. While the second half saw no lead changes, and the Firestorm started the half on a 14-6 run, the lead never truly felt safe until the clock had run out. With two timely three pointers by Gray and some aggressive drives by Matt Willkomm (12 points), the Firestorm were able to push away any run made by the Red Hawks throughout the night. The strong play of big men Steven Loucks (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Patson Siame (9 points, 8 rebounds) also ensured the Firestorm would go home with a win. Both men played some of their best basketball of the season and Coach Rutter took notice.

"Patson played really hard, protected basket well, and was very good on the boards for us tonight" Rutter said. "Steven is starting to find his rhythm at a great time. He has battled some injuries this year, but he is starting to put it all together. He is definitely going to be a key in conference play"

Siame had two thunderous dunks on the night, and also turned in two blocked shots.  With an array of strong perimeter shooters on this team, he and Loucks showed just how valuable they can be in the paint to the Firestorm as they head into conference play.

The second half saw much improvement offensively from the Firestorm and when asked what changed Coach Rutter said it was all about their execution.

"executed better, played our inside outside game really well in the second half" he said,  "We attacked the rim really well and got to the FT line a lot which helped, especially in the second half".

Their aggressiveness going to the basket paid off as the Firestorm managed to get to the free throw line 44 times.

All in all the Firestorm may not have played their best game, but they managed to get out of a hostile environment with a win and for that Rutter is pleased

"Benedictine has a very good team" Coach Jeff Rutter said, "they play really hard, and shoot the ball well. Tonight was a good win for us as we head into conference play"

The Firestorm will begin up conference play Saturday against Masters University at home in Fultz Memorial Gymnasium. With both teams undefeated, it promises to be a great start to the conference season for the Firestorm.

GAME NOTES and FACTS

• Before coming to ACU, Shy McClelland played at Mesa Community College. With Benedictine playing their home games at Mesa CC, tonight was a homecoming for the former T-Bird.
• With tonight's win, Coach Jeff Rutter has moved his career total to 96.
• While his stat line might not have been pretty, Andy Sessions certainly played his part tonight. Sessions could be seen as a key box out on many rebounds throughout the night, and multiple drives to the basket could be attributed to screens set by him.  Sessions has constantly proved to be someone that doesn't mind doing all the dirty work in the background.
• The Firestorm saw 10 different players score tonight
• In official games this season, the Firestorm have never trailed by more than 4 points and have never trailed in the second half.
• Coming out of timeouts called by Coach Rutter this season, the Firestorm have scored at least the first 5 points in the game