RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A tightly-contested defensive struggle of a first half gave way to an offensive explosion by the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team in the second half as they pulled away from Ouachita for a 72-54 win in the Great American Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night.
 
In that opening half, both teams struggled to find any kind of rhythm on offense with each side making less than 10 field goals from the floor. In fact, none of the made shots from the field in the first half came from beyond the arc as both teams combined to go 0-for-9 from long range.
 
With defense standing out more in the first half, the score remained close throughout the opening 20 minutes of action. All told in the first half, the largest lead by either side was four points. Additionally, the first half saw a remarkable six tie scores and eight lead changes.
 
Tied at 22-all at the break, the Wonder Boys (3-3, 1-0 GAC) came out strong in the second half and were able to peel the cover off the rim from long range as they ripped off a 6-0 spurt thanks to three-pointers from Tony Hall and Cameron Kennedy.
 
That initial spark to start the second half helped the Wonder Boys gain control of the game as they remained in the lead until the 11:54 mark. At that point, the Tigers (1-5, 0-1 GAC) took their first lead since the 6:07 mark of the first half on a three-pointer by Ma'Darius Hobson.
 
That Ouachita lead was short-lived, however, as the Wonder Boys answered right back on the other end with a three-pointer of their own, this one from Hall. About a minute later, the Tigers hit another three-pointer, this time to tie the score at 46-all with 10:30 left to play.
 
On the Wonder Boys' ensuing possession, Niko Gosnell flushed home a dunk off a bounce pass by Cejay Mann. That dunk was a momentum shifter and ended up being the catalyst for a 12-0 run by the Wonder Boys over the next two and a half minutes.
 
During that stretch, the Wonder Boys were 3-of-3 from the field, including 1-of-1 from three-point range, and were 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Conversely, on the other end of the floor, the Tigers were 0-for-4 with a turnover during that same time.  Almost half of those points scored by the Wonder Boys during the run came from Kevin Howard as he was 1-of-1 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
 
Ouachita was able to eventually bring the game within single digits and got as close as six-points, 58-52, with 4:07 to play, but the Wonder Boys went on another run and closed out the game out-scoring the Tigers 14-2.
 
During that final surge, the Wonder Boys were 6-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Ouachita, meanwhile, went 1-for-8 with two turnovers.
 
Overall, the Wonder Boys ended the game shooting 54.7% (29-of-53) overall from the floor. In the second half alone, Tech shot 66.7% (20-of-30). The Wonder Boys also made 4-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point range and were 10-of-13 from the line.
 
Three different Wonder Boys scored in double figures with Niko Gosnell leading the way with 15 points off the bench. He also added 11 rebounds to record a double-double and tacked on three blocks. Behind Gosnell in scoring were Tony Hall and Czar Perry as each had 14 points. Taelon Peter and BJ Johnson narrowly missed out on double figures with each scoring eight points. Peter also added 10 rebounds (all defensive) and four assists. Perry led the team in assists with six.
 
The Wonder Boys will now prepare to hit the road for another GAC game on Saturday afternoon. That day, the Wonder Boys will take on Arkansas-Monticello. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Monticello.