MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (13-10, 8-9 Great American Conference) got a key defensive stop with five seconds left and senior forward Nick Wayman knocked down two clutch free throws on the ensuing possession in a 78-73 victory over Southern Arkansas (12-11, 9-8 GAC) Saturday afternoon at the W.T. Watson Center in Magnolia.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After falling behind 7-5 early in the first half, freshman guard Freddy Lee sparked an 8-0 run with two three-pointers and a layup to pull the Wonder Boys into a 13-7 lead with 13:55 to go in the first half.
• After Tech took a 21-17 lead with 8:31 left, the Muleriders closed out the first half with an 18-8 run to give the Wonder Boys a 35-29 halftime deficit.
• SAU took its largest lead of the game at 42-31 with 17:07 to go in the second half, but Wayman jumpstarted a 14-3 run with a three-pointer from the left wing. Tyler Corley followed suit with back-to-back three-pointers on the next two possessions and added one more with 13:39 left to play to tie the game up at 45.
• Lee gave the lead to the Wonder Boys for good with a three-pointer with 8:15 to play, giving Tech a 57-55 lead.
• Arkansas Tech led by as much as seven after a Bryson Fletcher layup made it 68-61 with 5:49 left to play.
• Southern Arkansas had a chance to tie after getting the ball with 23 seconds remaining, but the Wonder Boys defense clamped down, forcing two SAU missed shots. Corley dove on a loose ball on the floor and Lee called a heads-up timeout to allow Wayman to seal the victory at the free throw line after a quick inbound and foul.

NOTABLES

• After starting off the game cold from the three-point arc, knocking down just 4-of-19 through the first 23 minutes, the Wonder Boys made 10-of-15 from three-point range in the final 17 minutes to finish the game 14-of-34 (41-percent) from three.
• The Wonder Boys played one of their best offensive halves of the season in the second half. Tech shot just 33-percent (8-of-24) from the field, 24-percent (4-of-17) from three, and 64-percent (9-of-14) from the charity stripe to go with seven turnovers in the first half. In the second half, Arkansas Tech shot 50-percent (15-of-30) from the field, 59-percent (10-of-17) from three, 82-percent (9-for-11) from the free throw line and committed just four second half turnovers.
• Corley led four Wonder Boys in double-figures with 20 points and tallied a team-high six assists. Lee added 17 points on 5-of-8 from the field, 3-for-6 from three, and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Wayman scored a season-high 14 points and Bryson Fletcher added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 from three.

WHO'S NEXT
Arkansas Tech will close out a tough road stretch on Monday, Feb. 15, as the Wonder Boys will travel to Searcy to take on Harding. Tip-off for the game will be at 7:30 p.m.