RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Jacie Higgins turned in a career-high 20-point performance, while Ke'Vonshaye Stackhouse scored 17 points, grabbed six boards and dished out four assists, as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (23-3, 19-3 Great American Conference) rolled past the Arkansas-Monticello Cotton Blossoms (7-20, 3-19 Great American Conference) on Saturday afternoon at Tucker Coliseum.

NEXT UP

The Golden Suns open play at the 2018 Great American Conference championship tournament as the No. 2 seed, facing off against No. 7 seed East Central on Thursday, March 1. Tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Senior McKenzie Morris scored the first points of the game to give Tech a 2-0 lead. Both teams traded baskets over the next several minutes, the score sat at 8-8 with 5:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
• Tech outscored UAM 8-7 down the stretch to take a 16-15 lead after the opening quarter.
• After the Blossoms took a 17-16 lead, a 3-point play by Higgins gave the Golden Suns a 19-17 lead with 8:23 remaining in the opening half.
• The Suns built some momentum, closing the second quarter on a 16-8 run, highlighted by a North 3-point-play to give Tech a nine-point advantage (41-32) going into the break. 
• Tech shot 57.1 percent in the first half, while holding the Blossoms to 41.4 percent shooting from the field. Monticello used the help of six made 3-pointers and 11 forced turnovers to keep the game close.
• The Golden Suns took a double-digit lead at (43-32) after Lyrik Williams hit a layup and extended their lead to 47-34 after Stackhouse scored a layup off an inbounds pass. Tech used a 12-2 run to claim a 21-point advantage (59-38) with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
• The Golden Suns continued to extend the lead, pushing ahead by 23 (61-38) after a Kylie Ladd layup, eventually stretching the lead to 28 before settling into the fourth quarter with a 71-44 advantage.
• Monticello trimmed the Tech lead to 22 points (84-62) but that's as close as the Blossoms would get as the Suns had an answer for every attempt UAM made at a rally. 

NOTABLES

• Higgins scored a career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and went 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
• Stackhouse joined Higgins in double-figures with 17 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the field. Williams added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Ryann Goodsell scored 12 points of the bench.
• The Golden Suns shot a red hot 63.0 percent from the field which is a season-high and the third highest in GAC history. The highest field goal percentage Tech has posted in a game came against Christian Brothers on Nov. 22 of the 2011-12 season when the Golden Suns netted 63.8 percent of their shots.
• Tech dominated inside, holding a 39-27 advantage on the rebounding glass and a 54-28 point advantage in points in the paint.
• Tech held a 19-14 advantage in points off turnovers and a 35-9 advantage in bench points.

-FIGHTON-