Box Score Rocklin, CA- Despite making fewer baskets from the field than WJU, Arizona Christian scored their GSAC season high thanks to capitalizing at the free throw line in their 99-89 win over William Jessup on Saturday. Senior Shane Carney scored a game high 23 points.
- Game score: Arizona Christian - 99, William Jessup - 89
- Records: Arizona Christian - 16-5, 6-3 GSAC, William Jessup - 14-7, 6-3 GSAC
- NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 23, William Jessup - not ranked
- Location: Warrior Arena, William Jessup University, Rocklin, CA
- Shane Carney - 23 points (7-11 shooting),
- O'Shae Williams - 21 points (11-13 at free throw line), 7 rebounds, 5 assists
- Robby Wilson - 16 points, 12 rebounds
- Xander Bowers - 13 points, 7 rebounds
- Al Burge - 10 points
- Seven points was the largest lead for either team in the first half
- ACU attempted nine free throws in the first 20 minutes
- Final tie of the game came at 84-84 with 3:55 to play
- ACU then outscored WJU 15-5 with 11 points coming at the line (28 of 31 overall)
- The Firestorm missed just one free throw in the final four minutes
- The only digit lead came on the last point of the contest
Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"So proud of our guys and their effort tonight!"
"We had a lead at halftime but were sloppy in a couple areas. We had nine turnovers, most of them unforced and Jessup had nine offensive rebounds. We came out in the second half and played very poorly defensively. Dribble penetration, not helping each other, not jumping to the ball. We have had a pattern of forcing things offensively when we do not execute defensively and things can snowball in a negative way. We went to our bench, and they really changed the game defensively for us. Terence Shelby, Jr., KeyVaughn Williams, and Al were exceptional on defense and all contributed on the other end of the court as well."
"We did a nice job taking care of the ball in the second half and made pretty good decisions. It was a gutsy win!"
Up Next
On Thursday, the Firestorm will begin the second half of GSAC play when they travel to Westmont in Santa Barbara. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm Pacific/ 8:30 pm Arizona.
