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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Flowers GSAC Semifinals
Dennis Flowers (Photo by Liza Rosales)
70
Jessup University (CA) JESSUP 18-11
80
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 22-7
Jessup University (CA) JESSUP
18-11
70
Final
80
Arizona Christian ACU
22-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Jessup University (CA) JESSUP 44 26 70
Arizona Christian ACU 34 46 80

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Tim Gooszen

Firestorm Advance To GSAC Finals

Fullerton, Calif.- Behind by as many as 15 points, top seeded Arizona Christian forced a 30 point swing to lead by as many as 15 in their GSAC semifinal against Jessup on Friday evening.  The win punches the ticket of the Firestorm into the GSAC championship game on Saturday.

Game Info
  • Game score: Arizona Christian- 80, Jessup- 70
  • Records: Arizona Christian- 22-7, Jessup- 18-11
  • NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian- 18, Jessup- not ranked
  • Location: Darling Pavilion, Hope International University, Fullerton, CA

ACU Stats For The Day
Inside the Box Score
  • The four minutes of the game were anything but great for ACU as they fell behind 14-2
  • After cutting their deficit to six, the Firestorm found themselves down as many as 15 points four times
  • A pair of free throws by Hudgens with 11 seconds left in the half made it a single digit gap
  • The Warriors held a 44-34 edge at the break thanks to shooting 56.7% from the field
  • Half number two started in opposite fashion as half number one with ACU rolling up an 18-1 run
  • Howell muscled his way to nine points in that 18 point span
  • Paul Hayden netted a couple of free throws to give ACU the lead for good
  • Their 15 point advantage came with 8:26 left in the game
  • Jessup climbed back within seven points but did not closer
  • The Warriors nailed 50% of their shots from three point land in the first half versus just 8.3% in the second
  • The Firestorm return to the GSAC final for the first time since winning it all in the 2019-20 season

Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"I am not sure the bye is conducive to getting out to a good start.  We gave effort, but did not execute very well on either end.  We were fortunate to just be down ten at half.  Our guys responded and played great defense to start the half to set the tone.  I am sure having the day off helped in terms of fatigue. In the second half we applied good pressure and were much more disciplined.  We did a nice job communicating together and that made a big difference."

Up Next
The final on Saturday will feature the top two seeds and co-regular season champions Arizona Christian and The Master's.  The two teams- who split the season series- will tip-off at 6:00 pm Pacific/7:00 pm Arizona.
 
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