SHAWNEE, Okla. – Jerami Grace turned in a 38-point, six-board performance, RJ Glasper added 14 points, and Montrell Williams scored 10 points as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team (10-1, 4-1 Great American Conference) held on for a thrilling 87-84 win over Oklahoma Baptist (5-6, 2-3) on Thursday night at the Noble Complex.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Wonder Boys got off to a slow start offensively, connecting on only one of their first 10 shots as OBU opened up an 11-3 advantage just over five minutes into the game.
• The Wonder Boys chipped away at the OBU lead, and after an 8-0 run by the Wonder Boys Tech claimed its first lead, 19-18, at the 10:02 mark of the opening half.
• OBU reclaimed the advantage shortly after a 3-pointer by Spencer Lindsey at the 9:15 mark, but Tech pushed ahead again, claiming a three-point (24-21) advantage after a jumper by Leonardo Edwards with 8:09 to play.
• OBU tied the contest at the 5:53 mark on a 3-pointer by Zach Norris, but a foul on the next possession sent Montrell Williams to the line for a pair of free throws – which he made to put Tech back ahead 30-28.
• The Bison answered with a 3-pointer by Chandler Rickey on their next possession to reclaim the lead.
• The two teams traded leads over the next several minutes, with OBU edging ahead by five (40-35) with 2:55 to go in the opening half.
• The Wonder Boys fought back and claimed the advantage, carrying a two-point (45-43) lead into the half.
• The second half saw Tech grow its lead to as many as four (47-43) on the opening possession before OBU began its rally.
• With the Wonder Boys holding a 53-51 lead with 15:46 to play, OBU forced a timeout with an 8-0 run that saw the Bison claim a 59-53 advantage with 14:03 to play.
• OBU continued its run out of the timeout, extending the run to 10-0 to claim an eight-point (61-53) advantage with 13:25 to play before the Wonder Boys found the scoreboard again.
• A 3-pointer by Jerami Grace cut the OBU advantage to four (65-61) with 11:53 to play, and after a turnover, Tech cut the OBU advantage to two on a layup by Montrell Williams.
• A jumper by Jerami Grace gave Tech the lead at the 9:40 mark and a 3-pointer on the subsequent possession stretched Tech's lead to four (73-69) with 8:51 to play.
• OBU tied the contest at 73-73 with 7:13 to play on a pair of free throws, but Tech claimed a four-point (83-79) lead after a 3-pointer by RJ Glasper with 4:59 to play.
• OBU cut the Tech lead to one (85-84) with 2:32 to play, but Alex Brown's layup with 1:57 to play very quickly gave the Wonder Boys a three-point advantage.
• OBU's Vladimir Nemcok had an opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds left, but the shot was blocked by Jerami Grace and the Wonder Boys rebounded the loose ball and held on for the win.

NOTABLES

• Tech outshot OBU 46.5 to 40.0 percent, connecting on 13 3-pointers.
• Grace hit nine 3-pointers for the contest.
• OBU held a 46-44 advantage on the rebounding glass, including a 16-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
• There were nine ties and 11 lead changes.
• Tech outscored OBU 58-11 in bench points and 15-7 in points off turnovers, while OBU held a 25-9 advantage in second-chance points and a 32-26 advantage in points in the paint. 

NEXT UP

• The Wonder Boys are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 6, facing Southern Nazarene in a 3 p.m. matchup in Bethany, Okla.