HAYS, Kan. – The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team opened their 2021-22 regular season on the road at Fort Hays State on Saturday night as part of the annual GAC/MIAA Crossover Challenge. In the opener, Tech was unable to overcome a slow start and ultimately fell to Fort Hays State by a score of 71-59.
That slow start offensively by the Wonder Boys (1-0) was capitalized on by Fort Hays as the Tigers (1-0) scored the game's first 11 points. Tech broke the seal on their scoring at the 14:40 mark of the first half on a pair of made free throws by
Kevin Howard. The Wonder Boys then went on a 10-2 run over the next four minutes or so of game action to close the scoring gap to a single point.
During that run, the Wonder Boys got three-pointers from
Cameron Kennedy and
Tony Hall to kickstart the offense. The latter part of the run came about in emphatic fashion as
Niko Gosnell hammered a pair of dunks, one in transition off a turnover and the other on an offensive rebound.
That was as close as the Wonder Boys would get, however, as the Tigers eventually snapped the run with a three-pointer at the 8:36 mark.
Tech was able to get it back to a single possession game twice more in the first half, but a five-point deficit at the 2:22 mark turned into an 11-point deficit at the break, 34-23, as the Tigers hit a pair of three-points.
The Tigers maintained a double-digit lead throughout the early part of the second half and grew their lead out as large as 15 points, 42-27, with 15:33 left on the clock. Over the next two and a half minutes of action, however, the Wonder Boys ripped off another run to put them back in the game.
This run was a 9-0 run that pulled Tech within six points with 13:07 left. During that run, Howard and Gosnell had interior points with a layup by Howard and a dunk by Gosnell. Senior transfer
Czar Perry accounted for the other five points of the run with a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer.
The Tigers were able to stave off that surge by the Wonder Boys with a pair of three-pointers over the next minute of action.
Trailing by that margin at the 9:42 mark, Perry went on a personal 5-0 run and brought the Wonder Boys as close as they had been since the 4:15 mark of the first half.
Once more, the Tigers were able to minimize the impact of a Wonder Boys run and remained out in front the rest of the way out, growing their lead back out to double-digits and closing with a 12-point margin of victory.
Statistically, the Wonder Boys shot 41.7% overall (25-of-60) from the floor. In the second half alone, the Wonder Boys shot 55.2% (16-of-29), but a disparity in free throw attempts (4/13) and makes (1/10) kept the Wonder Boys from making a dent in their deficit. Tech also came out on the down side of the three-point shot as Fort Hays State made nine and Tech six.
Perry was the Wonder Boys' leading scorer in the game with 19 points. The El Dorado native also added six rebounds and five assists. Kennedy and Gosnell joined Perry in double-figure scoring with 11 points for Kennedy and 10 for Gosnell.
The Wonder Boys will not have to wait long to get back on the hardwood as their next game will come on Sunday evening against Emporia State. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 5 p
