SAN ANGELO, Texas – A nationally-ranked upset was nearly turned in by the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team on Saturday evening as they gave No. 18-ranked Angelo State everything they could have wanted and more on their home court. Ultimately, it was Angelo State that prevailed as they turned in a late scoring run to stave off the upset and beat Tech 70-68.
 
Playing in their second game in as many days, the Wonder Boys (2-3) came out with great energy and went blow-for-blow with the unbeaten Rams (6-0). In the opening half, neither team led by anymore than single digits with the largest lead being nine points, achieved by the Rams on a pair of occasions near the midway point of the first half.
 
After the second of those nine-point leads was grabbed by Angelo State, the Wonder Boys went on an 11-0 run over a four-minute period to grab their first lead since the early going of the first half. During that run, the Wonder Boys got three-pointers from Czar Perry, Cejay Mann and Cameron Kennedy. Perry capped the run with a layup at the 8:13 mark.
 
The Rams finally broke the run and ripped of a quick 5-0 spurt to reclaim the lead. That spurt was matched by a personal 5-0 run by BJ Johnson as he scored five of his career-high 13 points. That gave the Wonder Boys a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the first half.
 
Leading by two at the break, the Wonder Boys were able to maintain a modest lead over the Rams until the 14:08 mark when they got a go-ahead three-pointer by Keyln Pennie.
 
The next 10 minute stretch of action was closely contested as there were four tie scores and three lead changes while neither team led by more than five points. Each of the high-watermark leads in that stretch were by the Rams, but after claiming the lead on a pair of free throws by Johnson at the 4:27 mark, the Wonder Boys soon built their own five-point lead, this one coming with 3:16 to play on a mid-range jumper by Perry.
 
Over the next minute or so, the Rams and Wonder Boys traded buckets to keep it a five-point game in favor of the Wonder Boys, 68-63, with 1:50 left.
 
Unfortunately, that would be all the Wonder Boys would score the rest of the way out as Angelo State took advantage of a pair of turnovers and closed out on a 7-0 run to push them ahead. The last of those points came with just three seconds left and proved to be game-winning basket.
 
Statistically, the Wonder Boys shot 38% overall (26-of-68) from the field and were 36% successful from three-point range (8-of-22). That final percentage from three-point range was a cool off from the first half where they were 6-of-12 from deep. Tech did manage to attempt free throws in the second half after none in the first half and made 8-of-11.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys had three players in double figures and were led by Czar Perry and his 19 points. Perry also flirted with a triple-double as he hauled in nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. BJ Johnson and Niko Gosnell came off the bench and each reached double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The battle-tested Wonder Boys will now turn their attention towards Great American Conference play as they open up league action at home on Thursday, December 2 against Ouachita. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum.