WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

02/20 03:43 CST Abilene Christian hosts Southern Utah following Duval's 23-point game Abilene Christian hosts Southern Utah following Duval's 23-point game By The Associated Press Southern Utah Thunderbirds (9-18, 5-9 WAC) at Abilene Christian Wildcats (12-14, 4-9 WAC) Abilene, Texas; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Southern Utah visits Abilene Christian after Elijah Duval scored 23 points in Southern Utah's 78-74 loss to the Tarleton State Texans. The Wildcats have gone 8-4 in home games. Abilene Christian ranks fourth in the WAC with 13.3 assists per game led by Rich Smith averaging 4.6. The Thunderbirds have gone 5-9 against WAC opponents. Southern Utah has a 5-11 record in games decided by at least 10 points. Abilene Christian is shooting 43.4% from the field this season, 2.7 percentage points lower than the 46.1% Southern Utah allows to opponents. Southern Utah averages 7.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 5.7 per game Abilene Christian allows. The teams meet for the third time in conference play this season. Southern Utah won 79-76 in the last matchup on Jan. 31. Duval led Southern Utah with 29 points, and Smith led Abilene Christian with 18 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Bradyn Hubbard is averaging 16.1 points and two steals for the Wildcats. Yaniel Rivera is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Duval is averaging 14.4 points and 3.6 assists for the Thunderbirds. Jaiden Feroah is averaging 15.1 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 2-8, averaging 64.8 points, 28.2 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 9.9 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 39.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.5 points per game. Thunderbirds: 5-5, averaging 77.2 points, 32.4 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 5.0 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.1 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.