BETHANY, Okla. – Jayana Sanders scored a game-high 24 points, Lyrik Williams turned in a 16-point, 14-rebound double double, as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (9-1, 5-1 Great American Conference) held off a late rally by Southern Nazarene (5-6, 3-4) to win 85-83 on Saturday afternoon at the Sawyer Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• SNU got off to a red-hot start, opening a 17-2 advantage over the first 5:35 of the contest.
• The Golden Suns battled back, outscoring SNU 15-4 over the final 4:30 of the quarter to pull to within four points 21-17 at the end of the opening quarter.
• Jayana Sanders buried a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the third quarter to extend Tech's run to 11-0 and pull the Golden Suns to within one (21-20).
• Tech claimed its first lead of the game (26-25) at the 8:54 mark of the second quarter on a fast-break layup by Jacie Higgins.
• SNU used a 6-0 run to claim a 47-41 advantage at the half.
• After SNU scored the first bucket of the second half to claim an eight-point (49-41) advantage, Arkansas Tech scored 13 unanswered points to reclaim a five-point (54-49) advantage and force a SNU timeout.
• The Tech run was stretched to 15-0 before SNU put points on the board again.
• Arkansas Tech pulled ahead by as many as 11 points (66-55) with 2:29 to play in the third quarter b efore ending the quarter with a nine-point (72-63) advantage.
• SNU rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the Tech lead to six (74-68) with 8:43 to play.
• SNU continued its rally, tightening the game to one point (76-75) with 4:24 remaining.
• Tech was able to keep SNU from reclaiming the lead over the next three minutes, and a layup by Jayana Sanders with 1:05 to play gave Tech a three-point (84-81) advantage entering the final minute of play.
• After a Tech stop, a foul sent SNU's Alexis Jones to the line to shoot two shots with 24.4 seconds remaining. Jones hit both to cut the Tech lead to 84-83.
• With 16.3 seconds remaining, Jayana Sanders was fouled and sent to the line. Sanders split the shots to give Tech a two-point advantage and SNU called timeout.
• SNU was whistled for an illegal screen with 10.4 seconds to play, giving the Golden Suns the ball. Coach Dave Wilbers called timeout to advance the ball into the frontcourt.
• The Golden Suns were unable to convert on two shots, and SNU grabbed the defensive board with 6.8 seconds to play, calling a timeout to advance the ball into their frontcourt.
• The final shot from the Crimson Storm was off target, helping the Golden Suns escape with the two-point win.

NOTABLES

• Joining Sanders and Williams in double figures were Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse (13 points) and Cheyenne North (10 points), who narrowly missed a triple-double with eight boards and seven assists.
• Tech was outshot 43.7 to 43.2 percent, however, the Golden Suns held a 48-43 rebounding edge including an 18-11 advantage on the offensive glass.
• Tech forced 19 SNU turnovers.
• SNU outscored Tech in the paint 42-40 and on second-chance buckets 14-11, but the Golden Suns held a 24-21 advantage in points off turnovers and an 8-6 edge on fast-break points. 

NEXT UP

• The Golden Suns return to action on Thursday, Jan. 11, traveling to Henderson State for a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Reddies. The game will be broadcast live locally on 102.3-FM (KCJC) in Russellville, and live audio, video, and statistics are available at www.arkansastechsports.com.