RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. –  Montrell Williams turned in an 18-point performance, but the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team (10-4, 4-4 Great American Conference) was unable to overcome a solid 3-point shooting game from the Muleriders as Southern Arkansas (7-7, 3-5) downed the Wonder Boys 80-76 on Saturday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Muleriders controlled the early minutes of the contest, opening up a 5-0 lead over the first two minutes.
• Southern Arkansas pushed ahead by five points (14-9) after a jumper by KJ Collins at the 14:45 mark of the opening half.
• Tech took its first lead of the game at the 11:45 minute mark (17-14) after Trevin Woods drained a 3-pointer.
• The Muleriders regained the lead after Keeton Tennison hit a 3-pointer to put the score at 25-24 with 8:04 remaining in the first half.
• Southern Arkansas went on to score 13 of the next 19 points to build its largest lead of the first half at 38-30 with just under two minutes to play in the opening half.
• Tech narrowed the gap, ending the first half on a 4-1 run to put the score at 39-34 going into the break.
• The Wonder Boys scored the first four points of the second half to pull within one point (39-38) at the 18:07 minute mark.
• SAU answered Tech's 4-0 run with a 7-3 run of its own to push the score to 46-41 with 15:49 remaining in the second half.
• Mason Cline helped Tech retake the lead as he sunk a 3-pointer to give the Wonder Boys a 47-46 lead.
• Over the next several minutes the lead changed four times, Southern Arkansas gained the advantage after a Tennison 3-pointer gave the Muleriders a 54-51 lead with 12:43 remaining in regulation.
• An Alex Brown layup gave Tech the lead back with the score at 55-54.
• Tech used a 13-4 run to build its largest lead of the game (66-58) with just under seven minutes to play.
• Southern Arkansas scored the next ten points to take a 68-66 lead with 5:07 remaining in the game.
• Freddy Lee drilled a 3-pointer at the 4:52 minute mark to give the Wonder Boys the lead at 69-68.  
• SAU reclaimed the lead on the next possession and never looked back. The Muleriders used a 9-1 run to build a seven point lead (77-70) with 36 seconds remaining in regulation.
• Back-to-back 3-point plays from RJ Glasper trimmed the lead to three points (79-76) with 15 second remaining in the game.
• However, an Aaron Lucas free throw on the next possession iced the game and gave the Muleriders the win.

NOTABLES

• Five Wonder Boys reached double figures in points – Williams tied his season-high with 18 points, Glasper added 15 points, Brown scored 14, Trevin Woods notched 13, and Lee tallied 11 points.
• Cline led the Wonder Boys in rebounding, tying his career-high with ten rebounds.
• Glasper turned in a career-high seven assists.
• SAU outrebounded Tech 42-40 and outscored the Wonder Boys in the paint 30-26
• The Muleriders outshot Tech from behind the arc as Southern Arkansas shot 11-24 from deep while Tech shot 8-34.
• Tech held the advantage in points off of turnovers (17-15), second chance points (15-7), and turnovers (18-11).

NEXT UP

• The Wonder Boys will return to action on Monday, Jan. 15, visiting Harding in a Great American Conference matchup in Searcy Ark. A 7:30 p.m. tip-off is scheduled.