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Arizona Christian University

OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE OF ARIZONA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
Dunkley D
Khaxil Stewart
100
Winner Arizona Christian ACU 24-4, 12-2 GSAC
60
Benedictine Mesa BENU 13-15, 2-12 GSAC
Winner
Arizona Christian ACU
24-4, 12-2 GSAC
100
Final
60
Benedictine Mesa BENU
13-15, 2-12 GSAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Arizona Christian ACU 42 58 100
Benedictine Mesa BENU 34 26 60

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Tim Gooszen

Firestorm Claim Share Of GSAC Regular Season Championship

Mesa, Ariz.- With their win over Benedictine Mesa on Thursday, Arizona Christian claimed a share of their fifth straight GSAC regular season championship.  The Firestorm will be the two seed in the GSAC Championship Tournament that starts next week after The Master's beat Hope International on Thursday.  The Mustangs will be the top seed as both teams will host a week from Saturday.

Game Info
  • Game score: Arizona Christian - 100, Benedictine Mesa - 60
  • Records: Arizona Christian - 24-4, 12-2 GSAC, Benedictine Mesa - 13-15, 2-12 GSAC
  • NAIA Top 25 ranking: Arizona Christian - 5, Benedictine Mesa - not ranked
  • Location: Physical Education Center, Mesa, AZ

ACU Stats For The Day
Inside the Box Score
  • The Firestorm came ready to play as they opened a 7-0 lead (Dunkley five points)
  • A three pointer by Onakpoma gave ACU an 16-8 edge
  • BENU used a 10-0 run to move ahead
  • Gonzalez tied the game before the Red Hawks moved back ahead
  • Chukwu tied the game at 20-20 with 10:35 left in the the half
  • From that point on, ACU took off as they outscored BENU 80-40 in the final 30 minutes
  • The Firestorm saw just one double lead in the first 20 minutes
  • Dunkley and Onakpoma had 12 points each in the half
  • Just 24 seconds into the second half, ACU moved ahead by 11 and did not lose the double digit edge
  • The victory gives ACU a ten game win streak (tied for third longest overall and tied longest in GSAC play)
  • TMU and ACU split their season series and both also split versus Hope International
  • The Mustangs claim the top seed based on point differential against the Firestorm (+13)
  • Gonzalez became the 20th member of the ACU 1,000 point club (currently at 1,001)

Thoughts from Coach Rutter
"We did a great job defensively to start the second half and took control of the game.  We are so much better offensively when we are committed to the defensive end and I think that showed in the second half.  Our guys have worked very hard this year, battled through some tough injuries, and continued to improve and it has put us in a great position headed into the postseason."

Up Next
As the second seed, Arizona Christian will host Hope International (the third seed) in the semifinal round of the GSAC Tournament a week from Saturday (March 1) at 2:00 pm.
 
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