RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Senior forward Nick Wayman hit a clutch three-point basket with 24 seconds remaining and the Wonder Boys converted on four of six foul shots in the final 16 seconds to help Arkansas Tech (3-2, 1-1 Great American Conference) defeat Missouri Southern (3-3) in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams battled back-and-forth within the first 13 minutes of the game with 11 lead changes and neither team holding more than a three-point lead during that stretch.
• Missouri Southern took control with a 10-0 run between the 7:16 and 3:52 marks to break open a 27-19 lead.
• The Wonder Boys battled back with a 7-0 run on a Tyrone Haughton breakaway dunk, a pair of free throws by DeChriston McKinney, and a three-pointer by Freddy Lee to cut the lead to 27-26.
• MSSU's Charlie Brown hit a three-pointer with just seconds remaining before halftime to take a 30-26 lead into halftime.
• Tech opened the second-half with a 14-3 run in the first 4:40 to grab ahold of a 41-33 lead.
• The Lions didn't get the lead back until the 9:23 mark and would take their biggest lead of the second half on a Taevaunn Prince free throw with 4:46 to go to make it a 65-60 game.
• Arkansas Tech battled back with a 6-0 run on layups by Tyler Corley, McKinney, and Marquis Yates over the next 1:19 to reclaim a 66-65 lead.
• With a 68-67 lead and the shot clock winding down, Andrew Guillory drove down the lane and kicked it out to a wide open Wayman for a three-pointer from the corner to stretch the lead to 70-66 with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
• After coming up with a defensive stop, Wayman knocked down a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to stretch the lead to 74-69.
• MSSU made a three-pointer to cut the lead to 74-72 with two seconds left, but Haughton was fouled, converted on 1-of-2 free throws, and MSSU's three-quarters court heave at the buzzer sailed wide to give the Wonder Boys the 75-72 victory.

NOTABLES

• Tyler Corley came off the bench to lead the Wonder Boys with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
• Wayman scored 13 points and recorded a team-high eight rebounds. Wayman also scored five of the Wonder Boys last seven points in the game.
• In just his second start of the season, Guillory scored a season-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while tying a season-high seven boards.
• Tech came up big off the bench, outscoring the Lions 37-18 in bench points.
• The Wonder Boys won the battle on the block, outrebounding the Lions 41-34 and outshooting the Lions at the charity stripe. Tech converted 14 of their 20 free throw attempts while the Lions only managed to shoot 5-of-11 from the charity stripe.

COACH KLINE SAYS

• On the win - "Missouri Southern is good. It was a big time in-region win. They really scored the ball well, but I thought we did a really good job defensively. I'm super proud of the guys and glad we got a win today."
• On the team's home success – "I love playing at home. We've been pretty good in the past at home and we've got a little taste of the road last week. It's always more comfortable at home and we'll be ready to go on Thursday (home conference opener) for sure."

WHO'S NEXT

• The Wonder Boys will play their first conference home game of the season against the newcomer to the Great American Conference, Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. in Tucker Coliseum.