RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team got back to their winning ways on Thursday night inside Tucker Coliseum as they used an overall gritty effort to come away with a 66-59 win over previously unbeaten Southern Arkansas.
 
The win for the Wonder Boys (3-2, 1-2 GAC) was their first in GAC play this season and snapped a modest two-game losing skid.
 
In securing the win on Thursday, the Wonder Boys used a combination of a quick start offensively and tenacious defense throughout.
 
Coming into the game, the Muleriders (3-1, 3-1 GAC) were the most efficient offense in the GAC as their field goal percentage was .49, but against the Wonder Boys, SAU struggled to a 34% mark from the field, making just 21-of-61 shots. Additionally, the Muleriders were limited to 59 points, 15 points off their average of 74.3 ppg.
 
The aforementioned offensive start for the Wonder Boys was a methodical 10-0 run over the first four minutes of action. During that time, the Muleriders were 0-of-8 from the field with no turnovers. Conversely, the Wonder Boys made their first four shots.
 
SAU finally cracked the scoreboard at the 15:02 mark.
 
After jumping out to the 10-0 lead, the Wonder Boys would lead by double figures on two other occasions and went into the locker room with a 15-point lead, 35-20.
 
In the second half, that lead quickly jumped to a 20-point advantage thanks to a methodical 5-0 run over the first four minutes or so of the final period.
 
The lead grew as large as 22 points with 13:30 left on the clock and for the most part, the Wonder Boys' lead was not ever in jeopardy the rest of the way out. The final margin did dip into single digits on a late three-pointer by the Muleriders.
 
As a team, the Wonder Boys shot 49% overall from the floor (26-of-53), 38% from three-point range (9-of-24) and 50% from the charity stripe (5-of-10).
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys had two players in double figures led by 17 points from freshman Cejay Mann. Mann was 6-of-11 overall from the floor and 5-of-10 from three-point range. Joining Mann in double figures was Tony Hall with 11 points.
 
The Wonder Boys will now play again next Thursday at Henderson State as their scheduled game this coming Saturday at Ouachita was canceled due to COVID-19. Tip-off for the game at Henderson State is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Arkadelphia.