RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Fatima Adams turned in a 26-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Calli White added 17 points and Aujana Dawkins scored 14 as the No. 15 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (22-3, 20-1 Great American Conference) used a big third quarter to provide all the cushion it would need in a 66-54 win over Southeastern Oklahoma (13-14, 11-10 GAC) on Thursday evening at Tucker Coliseum. 

HOW IT HAPPENED?

• The Golden Suns opened the game on a 6-0 run and outscored the Savage Storm 13-3 over the first 5:04 of the contest.
• Southeastern Oklahoma closed the quarter on a 12-4 run to pull to within two (17-15) at the end of the quarter.
• The Savage Storm opened the second quarter on a 9-2 run to take a five-point (24-19) lead with 5:24 to go until half.
• The Golden Suns then scored the next eight points to pull ahead 27-24 with 2:18 to go in the half.
• Southeastern held Tech off the board down the stretch, however, and a layup as time expired sent Southeastern into the half with a 28-27 lead.
• Tech started the third quarter strong, using a 13-2 run to grab a ten-point (40-30) lead with 4:18 to go in the quarter.
• With Tech holding on to a double-figure lead (45-35) with 2:01 to play, Southeastern knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to cut its deficit to four (45-41) with one minute to go in the quarter.
• Tech pushed its lead back to eight (50-42) at the quarter break.
• The Savage Storm pulled to within two (54-52) with 4:12 to play, but the Golden Suns did not allow another field goal down the stretch and pulled away with a 12-point win.

NOTABLES

• Tech's 12-point margin of victory represented its largest lead of night.
• The Golden Suns outscored the Savage Storm 26-14 in the paint, 20-10 off turnovers, and 6-4 in fast-break points. Second-chance points were tied at six apiece, while Southeastern held a 27-4 advantage in bench scoring.
• Brooks dished out a game-high six assists.
• Tech outshot Southeastern 41.9 to 38.8 percent from the floor for the game. The Golden Suns improved their shooting percentage from 34.4 percent in the first half to 50 percent in the second, while shooting 50 percent from long range for the game.
• Tech's dance partner for the opening round of the conference tournament will not be determined until the conclusion of Saturday's games.

COACH WILBERS SAYS

• On holding Southeastern down the stretch – "I think we really dug down defensively and did a great job guarding the shooters. We had some great combinations in there defensively that I really liked. The players gutted this one out. We knew this would be a tough game. We talked about it all week long. Southeastern has improved. They're a tough basketball team. I'm really proud of our defense. We got off to a slow start offensively, but the players picked it up and got a big win."
• On winning a possession-to-possession game – "Even though both teams got their transition game going, it seemed like the game went really fast for us. Credit Southeastern – they hit some big threes down the stretch to keep them in it, but I'm proud of our team and really proud of Fatima stepping up there and hitting free throws in crunch time."

NEXT UP

• The Golden Suns conclude the 2015-16 regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27, hosting East Central. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.