RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Returning home after playing their first road game of the season this past Thursday night, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team suffered their first loss at home in 2020-21 as defending Great American Conference Tournament champion Henderson State upended the Wonder Boys by a score of 70-44 on Saturday afternoon.
 
The early part of the game was closely-contested as there were four tie scores, two lead changes and neither team held a lead larger than four points over the first seven minutes or so of action. The second of those two lead changes went in favor of the Reddies (1-1, 1-1 GAC) and proved to be the last lead change of the game as Henderson remained out in front the remainder of the contest.
 
Trailing by their largest margin in the first half, 13 points at the 6:15 mark, the Wonder Boys would go on a 6-0 run over the next five minutes to close the deficit down to seven points, 30-23, with 1:24 left on the clock. That was as close that the Wonder Boys would get in the final moments of the first half and thanks to a pair of free throws under the minute mark, the Reddies took a nine-point lead into the locker room, 32-23.
 
A quick start offensively in the second half by the Wonder Boys pulled them within five points of the Reddies at the 18:00 mark. Getting the Wonder Boys to that point was a made three-pointer by Tony Hall. The Reddies matched that three a minute and a half later to push back up eight, but a made three-pointer by Cejay Mann on the ensuing possession once more made it a five-point game, this time with 16:05 on the clock.
 
From there however, the Reddies would gain control and not relent. Sparked by a foul on a three-pointer at the 13:57 mark that saw Henderson make all three free throws, the Reddies ripped off a 10-0 run to swell their lead to its largest of the game to that point, 15 points, with 11:21 to play.
 
Over the remainder of the game, the Reddies closed on a 22-9 run to bring the game to its final of 70-44.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys had nine players score in the game. Hall was the lone player in double figures for ATU as he scored 12 points.
 
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a rivalry matchup in a couple of nights as they play host to Harding on Monday night as part of the GAC's Rivalry Night. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum. Per the GAC Return To Play Protocols, fans are not permitted.