RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Marquis Yates and Tyler Corley combined to score 37 points and the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys opened 2016 with an 85-64 win over the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Saturday afternoon in Tucker Coliseum.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Wonder Boys struggled during the first part of the first half, as the Rovers held the lead most of the way through the first 10 minutes of the game. However, USAO never led by more than four points during that stretch and Tech reclaimed the lead for good on a Corley three-pointer with 9:22 to go in the half to make it 17-14.
• Corley's three-pointer helped spark a 17-3 run by the Wonder Boys as Corley finished out the run on three-point play to make it a 30-17 game with 6:14 left in the half.
• Yates finished off his first half on a high note, scoring a buzzer-beating layup on the final possession to give the Wonder Boys a 45-27 lead going into halftime.
• Tech opened the second half with a 14-8 run, started off and capped off on three-pointers by Yates to give Tech a 59-35 lead with 16:14 to go in the game.
• After the Rovers whittled the lead down to 61-43 with 11:59 to go, the Wonder Boys answered with a 15-3 run over the next 3:42 to take their largest lead of the game at 76-46. During the run, Corley scored layups on three consecutive possessions and Freddy Lee ended the run on a deep three-point shot.
• USAO chipped away at the Tech lead during the final stretch of the second half, but the Wonder Boys never led by less than 20 the rest of the way and came away with the 85-64 win.

NOTABLES

• Yates had one of his best shooting performances of the season, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the arc along with gathering six rebounds.
• The Wonder Boys bench had a productive day, outscoring the Rovers bench 45-17. Corley led the bench scoring with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field while also gathering five boards. DeChriston McKinney also scored 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds.
• Andrew Guillory rounded out the Tech double-digit scorers with 10 points, going 5-for-7 from the field while tying a team-high eight rebounds along with Nick Wayman.
• Despite USAO averaging five guys in double-figure scoring coming into the game, the Wonder Boys limited them to just one player in double-figures as Dedrain Palmer led the Rovers with 24 points and 21 rebounds.
• The Tech defense frustrated the Rovers offense, holding them to just 22-of-78 shooting (28-percent) from the field and 3-of-25 (12-percent) from behind the arc.
• Tobe Okafor had his second-consecutive game with five or more blocks. After recording six blocks against Florida Tech on Dec. 18, Okafor recorded five more against USAO to give him 17 blocks for the season.

WHO'S NEXT
Arkansas Tech will return to Great American Conference play next week as the Wonder Boys will start a three-game road trip with a matchup on Jan. 7 against Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant.