SEARCY, Ark. – Sometimes 40 minutes of basketball is just not enough to decide a winner and already twice this season, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team has gone to overtime. In both instances, the Wonder Boys made full use of the extra five minutes and come away with a win.
 
On Monday night on the road at the Rhodes-Reeves Fieldhouse, however, the Wonder Boys (5-3, 3-3 GAC) would not secure a win in five extra minutes of play. Rather, they took advantage five more minutes on top of that as they beat rival Harding, 109-104 in double overtime.  The double overtime win was the Wonder Boys first since 2012 when they beat Missouri-St. Louis 77-74.
 
As best as the records would appear to indicate, the three wins in overtime this season are the most in a single year in program history. In four separate seasons prior to this year, the Wonder Boys have played at least three overtime games with the most coming in 2005-06 when they played five. That year, however, the Wonder Boys were just 1-4 in those overtime games.
 
In Monday's game, the Wonder Boys turned in their best all-around offensive performance of the season as they shot 52% overall from the floor (36-of-69), 48% from three-point range (15-of-31) and 71% from the charity stripe.
 
Coming into the game, the Wonder Boys had struggled at times on the offensive end of the court and were averaging 69.1 ppg. to rank 11^th in the GAC. There were no such struggles against the Bisons (2-4, 2-4 GAC), however, as the Wonder Boys poured in 45 points by the break and led by 12 heading into the locker room.
 
In that first half alone, the Wonder Boys shot nearly 60% overall from the floor (17-of-29) and were 6-of-12 from three-point range while also making 5-of-6 shots from the free throw line.
 
In the second half, the shooting percentages cooled some for the Wonder Boys and the Bisons took advantage as they methodically cut into their deficit. By the 10:42 mark of the second half, Harding knotted the game at 62-all on a pair of made free throws. The Wonder Boys would not relinquish the lead though and remained in front until the 4:59 mark when the Bisons tied the score once more.
 
Again, the Wonder Boys would answer back to stay on top of the Bisons. At the 3:54 mark, however, the Bisons were able to take their first lead of the game since the 18:13 mark of the first half. About 20 seconds later, the Bisons had their lead pushed out to a modest three points, 75-72 with 3:21 to play.
 
The Wonder Boys were able to tie the game at 75-all at the 1:38 mark, but a quick layup on the other end put the Bisons back on top with 1:18 to play.
 
Following a missed jumper and subsequent offensive rebound with just over 40 seconds left to play, the Wonder Boys turned the ball over with 38 seconds left. That would allow the Bisons, with a two-point lead in hand, to take the shot clock down as far as it could go before taking a shot. That shot would not fall for Harding, and as he was securing the defensive rebound, Tony Hall was fouled with five seconds left.
 
At the line for two and the chance to tie the game, Hall buried both free throws. Hall then came away with a steal at mid-court and raced down the court for the potential game-winning layup or dunk, but neither would happen as the game clock expired before he could get a shot of any kind off.
 
In the first overtime, Harding took the first lead on a pair of made free throws. On the ensuing possession, however, the Wonder Boys swung ahead on a three-pointer by Cejay Mann. That trifecta sparked an 8-0 run that pushed the Wonder Boys lead out to six points with 3:11 to play in the overtime period.
 
The Wonder Boys would maintain a slim lead over the next couple of minutes of game time, but the Bisons, trailing by three points with 33 seconds left, would convert an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 90-all and eventually send the game to a second overtime.
 
In the second overtime, the Wonder Boys got a massive scoring jolt from Mann as he went on to score 16 of the team's 19 points that period. Prior to the two overtime periods, Mann had scored just two points in the game. At the conclusion of both overtimes, Mann ended up being the team's leading scorer with 21 points.
 
A majority of Mann's damage in that second OT came from beyond the arc as he made four from distance. His last four points were the Wonder Boys' final points of the game and came at the charity stripe as he salted the game away for Tech.
 
In total, the Wonder Boys would have five players score in double figures with Cameron Kennedy and Justin Briley each scoring 19 points to finish just off Mann's aforementioned team-high 21 points. Niko Gosnell was next in scoring with 17 points and Hall added 11 points. The scoring outputs by Briley, Kennedy and Gosnell were all career-highs.
 
While not reaching double-figures in scoring, Ke'Lyn Adams had an all-around great game as he flirted with a triple-double with eight points, eight assists and 10 rebounds.
 
The Wonder Boys will now shift their attention to a home game on Thursday night against Ouachita. With no women's game preceding it due to COVID-19 concerns with the Ouachita program, the men's game will tip-off at 6 p.m.
 
Once more, due to current GAC Return To Play protocols, fan attendance will not be permitted for the game with Ouachita.