Home is Where the Heart Is on Busy Thursday Night
Home is Where the Heart Is on Busy Thursday Night
Home teams go undefeated with a few surprises mixed in.
‘Home Sweet. Home Sweet’.
After Thursday night’s outcomes around the Western Athletic Conference, those Russell Dickerson lyrics hit quite the spot.
Five conference game. Five home teams walking away with wins.
Winning on the road is tough. And Thursday night showed us how true that statement is.
UTRGV got its first conference win in epic fashion. UT Arlington held Utah Valley without a point for the first 10 minutes at College Park Center. GCU, once again, had to come back for a win after trailing in the first half. Utah Tech held SFA to 15 second-half points en route to getting back in the win column. And California Baptist capped off the night with a dominant win over previously undefeated in WAC play Tarleton.
All five of those teams were at home, in the friendly confines of UTRGV Fieldhouse, College Park Center, GCU Arena, Burns Arena, and Fowler Events Center.
Home Sweet, indeed.
Vaqueros Get First WAC Win in Epic Thriller
What is it about the UTRGV Vaqueros and epic ball games? Whether it be overtime or crazy finishes, UTRGV basketball makes for some entertaining ball games.
On Thursday night at UTRGV Fieldhouse, that is exactly what happened.
Hasan Abdul-Hakim hit a fall away jumper with a second to play to give UTRGV an 81-80 win over Seattle U.
Abdul-Hakim finished with 15 points but none bigger than those two. Ahren Freeman finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros, as well.
Alex Schumacher had to put Seattle U on his back in the second half as Cam Tyson sustained an ankle injury in the first half and didn’t return in the second half.
Schumacher finished with a game-high 25 points but it wasn’t enough as the Redhawks fell to 3-2 in WAC play.
Mavs Get Defensive, Hold On for Big Win
Seven minutes and 21 seconds. That is how long the UT Arlington men’s basketball team Utah Valley without points to begin the game at College Park Center on Thursday.
And that was all the Mavs needed to snap a 3-game losing streak with an 83-69 win over the Wolverines.
Now, before you say the game was out of reach in the first half, which technically, it was, Utah Valley did make a run late in the second half and got within 12 a couple of times.
Shemar Wilson’s free throws with 10:54 to play gave UT Arlington its largest lead of the game at 26.
But, Utah Valley went on a 16-4 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to 12. But that was as close as Utah Valley got on Thursday night.
DaJuan Gordon returned from injury to have a game-high 22 points. UT Arlington, as a team, hit 11 3-pointers in the win.
Drake Allen had 16 points to lead Utah Valley.
Trailblazers Break the Narrative, Hold Off SFA in the Burns
A first half lead at Seattle U…gone. A 16-point lead vs. GCU…gone. Both games ended in double digit losses for the Utah Tech Trailblazers. And a narrative started that a young roster showed its inexperience at the most inopportune times.
Well, on Saturday night, at Burns Arena where anything can happen, Utah Tech broke that narrative.
Noa Gonsalves and the Blazers used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take control in the 75-70 win over SFA.
The icing on the cake was a two-handed throwdown by Hamed Olayinka that capped off the 10-0 run.
The Blazers showed composure, got multiple stops and did not let the SFA pressure get to them on Thursday night.
Noa Gonsalves finished with a team-high 18 points. Olayinka had 13 points. David Elliott and Beon Riley were in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Day Hall led SFA with 18 points but was not on the floor the last 3:27 despite being 8-11 from the field. Frank Staine Jr. finished with 13 points in his return to Burns Arena.
Another First Half Deficit, Another GCU Win
Will slow starts catch up with GCU as we get deeper into conference play? Perhaps.
But, like UTRGV, UT Arlington, and Utah Tech before them, ACU learned that no lead is safe when playing the league-leading Lopes.
Yes, Ali Dibba did all he could to put ACU on his back in an upset bid. Sure, ACU came out on fire and led by as many as nine after an Ali Dibba steal and dunk.
But, there is just too much experience on this GCU squad to think they will lose a game despite trailing in the second half.
Tyon Grant-Foster got going. Gabe McGlothan and Duke Brennan had big dunks in the second half. Out a first half timeout, Collin Moore got the Lopes going with a two-handed flush.
And GCU ran away with another double digit win. Tyon Grant-Foster finished with 24 points to lead all scorers. Gabe McGlothan had 13 points and Ray Harrison finished with 10.
Ali Dibba finished with 20 points to lead the Wildcats. Leonard Bettiol had 15 points and Airion Simmons had 11 points.
Problem was, outside of Dibba, ACU didn’t get a lot of offensive production from its guard line. Kavion McClain and Hunter Jack Madden combined for just 15 points.
GCU has now won 12 straight games, and the last three have all been by double figures.
ACU falls to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in WAC play.
Ouedraogo, Goodrick Lead Lancers to Dominant Win
GCU transfer Yvan Ouedraogo wasn’t known as an offensive threat in his two seasons with the Lopes. However, Ouedraogo has been called upon to play a larger role for the CBU Lancers.
On Thursday night, Ouedraogo lived up to that role in a big way. Ouedraogo had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead CBU to a dominant 77-63 win over Tarleton at Fowler Events Center.
The Lancer win capped off a 5-0 night for the home teams around the WAC.
Ouedraogo wasn’t the only Lancer with a double-double. Fellow big man Hunter Goodrick also finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Pretty wild, right?
Well, CBU got off to a fast start and never looked back. Whether it was offensive rebounds leading to easy buckets in the paint or Dominique Daniels Jr. breaking some ankles, the Lancers looked arguably the best they have looked all season on Thursday night.
CBU shot just under 48 percent from the field and dominated the glass, 45-24.
The win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Lancers dating back to Dec. 30 at New Mexico State.
Tarleton fell from the ranks of the undefeated in WAC play. Devon Barnes and Dario Domingos were the only Texans in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
It will be another busy night of WAC Hoops on Saturday beginning with Seattle U at UT Arlington at 2 p.m. CT.