ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – After not playing a game in 28 days, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team returned to the court on Saturday afternoon on the road at Ouachita. Understandably with some rust to shake off, the Wonder Boys overcame a 12-point deficit at halftime and forced overtime. Ouachita, however, managed to pull away in the extra period for a 79-72 win.
 
Not long after the break, the Wonder Boys (5-6, 2-3 GAC) pulled within single digits of the Tigers' (4-11, 2-7 GAC) lead, but Ouachita managed to keep a relatively comfortable distance until about the midway part of the second half. Trailing by eight points with 8:52 to play in regulation, the Wonder Boys ripped off of a 9-2 run to pull within a single point, 57-56, with 5:51 on the clock.
 
Just about a minute later, Tech's Cameron Kennedy buried a three-pointer to knot the game at 59-all with just under five minutes left to play. That was the first tie score since the 16:28 mark of the first half.
 
The Tigers would not relinquish the lead at that point, but with 2:15 to go, the Wonder Boys grabbed their first lead since the 15:20 mark of the first half on a three-pointer by Cejay Mann. Coincidently, that previous lead obtained came via a Mann three-pointer as well. This most-recent Mann trifecta put the Wonder Boys up by two, 63-61.
 
With the regulation clock under a minute to play, Ouachita tied the score at 63-all. On the ensuing possession, the Wonder Boys missed a shot but quickly forced a turnover following a Ouachita defensive rebound. That set up about a 10-second difference between the shot and game clock, allowing the Wonder Boys to milk some clock before a potential go-ahead basket.
 
An opportunistic steal by the Tigers, however, with 20 seconds led to an immediate timeout, allowing Ouachita to draw up the game's final shot of regulation as the shot clock was now off. The Tigers would get the look they wanted at the buzzer, but the shot did not fall, sending the game into overtime, tied at 63-all.
 
In overtime, Ouachita jumped out to a quick lead as they scored the first five points over the first near two minutes of action. That lead then swelled to eight points with just over two and a half minutes to play as the Tigers connected on a three-pointer.
 
Tech would score their first points of overtime at the 2:22 mark on a Tony Hall layup. The Wonder Boys were able to pull within four points on a couple of occasions soon thereafter, but Ouachita was able to ice the same away by going a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe over the final minute of the game.
 
The Wonder Boys had four players, all starters, score in double figures. Hall led the way with 20 points. He also had a team-high nine rebounds. Mann, in his first action since December 11, played 42 minutes and scored 14 points. Fueling much of that scoring was the three-point shot as he hit four in the game. Kennedy was next with 11 points and Taelon Peter rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points.
 
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a welcomed three-game home stand starting with a Thursday night game against Southwestern Oklahoma on January 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum.