BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team (16-13) tied a school record by burying 19 3-pointers, tying a mark initially set in 1994 and tied again in 1995, and captured a 95-83 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma (15-14) in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference tournament on Friday.
It was a back-and-forth affair all through the opening half, as the two teams battled through six ties and 15 lead changes in the opening 20 minutes of play, with the Wonder Boys carrying a 45-43 lead into the half.

After the Savage Storm cut the Tech lead to one (45-44) with 19:31 to play in the contest after a Kyle Roberts free throw, Tech unleashed a 9-0 run that pushed the Wonder Boys' lead to double digits (54-44) with 17:08 remaining.

The 3-pointers began falling in earnest for the Wonder Boys in the second half, and Tech pushed its lead to 16 (75-59) with 9:57 to play after a Nick Wayman 3-pointer.

The Savage Storm would not go quietly, using a 15-4 run to cut the Tech lead to five (79-74) with 5:18 to play, and Southeastern would later narrow it to four (82-78) with 3:20 remaining.

Tech stretched the game back out to eight points with 1:05 remaining after a pair of free throws by Jay Murphy, but the Savage Storm again made it a 5-point game (88-83) after Sami Bzai hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining.

Arkansas Tech concluded the game on a 7-0 run to seal the win.

D.J. Jethroe had a team-best 23 points with 10 rebounds, while Clarence Willard and Jay Murphy added 16 points. Tyler Friedel and Mike Balogun both added 14 points.
Southeastern Oklahoma held a 45-33 advantage on the rebounding glass, but the Wonder Boys committed only six turnovers in the contest, shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, including hitting at a 59.3 percent clip in the second half.

The Wonder Boys return to action in the semifinals of the GAC tournament on Saturday, facing Southwestern Oklahoma in an 8 p.m. game. The game will be carried live on 100.9-FM (KWKK) in Russellville, with live video available at www.gacsportsnetwork.com.