GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Vanguard men's basketball concluded the 2023-24 regular season against the Arizona Christian Firestorm on Saturday.  ACU had a Golden State Athletic Conference Championship on the line and the Lions could not produce enough in the first half, trailing 42-29 at the break.  While VU picked up the pace in the second half, it would not be enough, as ACU won 96-77.  Vanguard falls to 14-13 overall and concluded GSAC play in seventh place at 4-10.  ACU wins the men's regular season title at 21-7 overall and 10-4 in conference play.
 
 
What Happened?  Despite the score at the end of the first half, two free throws and a triple for Jackson Larsen kept the Blue and Gold in spitting distance of their hosts, as the squad trailed 6-5 after 90 seconds.  A jumper for Nico Dasca knotted things at 7-7 at the 16:38 mark, though an ACU three returned the lead to the Firestorm a minute later.  Larsen then banked in a jump shot to bring the score to 10-9, but after that, 12 unanswered Firestorm points pushed the home side's lead to a 22-9 with 12:44 left in the half.  While the Lions would start to deposit some points again, ACU would maintain control and hold a 30-15 lead with 7:43 to go.
 
Preston Sims closed out the half with five points over the final six minutes and both Bryson Metz and Phillip Willis knocked down jumpers to bring the halftime score to 42-29.  VU shot 33.3% in the first half from the floor, while ACU shot 53.8%.
 
The Lions started with a flurry of points in the second frame, as a Larsen jumper and five points from Sims brought the gap down to 48-36.  Anthony Tello and Willis each made threes just over a minute apart and with 12:25 to go, the defense started to give the Blue and Gold a chance.  The squad kept ACU off the board for almost three minutes, and with a three by Sims and a short-range conversion by Dasca, the lead was whittled down to 60-52.
 
The Lions returned the gap to eight two more times over the middle stages of the second, but ACU sensed a victory and poured it on over the final six minutes.   Dasca nailed a three to make it 73-64 with 6:23 to go, but a 10-3 streak after that allowed the Firestorm to put the advantage over 10 points, and the home side chugged on from there to a 96-77 victory.
 
What's Was Said?  "ACU played as well as anyone we've played all year," said Head Coach Rhett Soliday. "I'm super proud of our team for staying in the fight and continuing to compete.  Every big shot that they needed to hit, ACU made it in the second half when we made a push.  They have a chance to compete to win it all.  I am so thankful sor our seniors and their grit to keep serving each other and sticking together, even when the results did not go in our favor."
 
Why is it Important?  The Lions fall to 16-7 against ACU in the all-time series in what could be the final encounter between the two sides.