SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After the first three games of their season saw the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team average just over 50 points per game, the offense broke out in a big way on Tuesday afternoon against William Jewell as Tech scored a season-high 85 points. The high scoring output, however, was not quite enough as William Jewell edged out Tech by a score of 90-85.
Early action in the game was back and forth with two tie scores and nine lead changes through first seven minutes of so of play.
After regaining the lead by a point, 14-13, at the 13:02 mark of the first half on a mid-range jumper by
BJ Johnson, the Wonder Boys (0-4) claimed the largest lead of either team to that point on their next possession on a three-pointer by D'Rell Roberts.
William Jewell did not let Tech build their lead out any further and with 10:51 to play, hit a three-pointer to take a one-point lead themselves, 18-17. It was the Cardinals (2-3) third made three-pointer out of four attempts to that point of the first half.
Over the next 2:43 of game time, the Cardinals continued to knock down shots from beyond the arc with three more makes from range during that stretch to help build out their lead to as much as eight points, 30-22, with 7:34 left in the first half.
The Wonder Boys would battle back in the game on a couple of occasions, pulling as close as five points, but each time Tech would get that close, William Jewell would answer back on their end to extend their lead.
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, the Cardinals had swelled their lead to double digits for the first time and led by as many 12 points, 48-36, with 1:19 left on the clock.
The Wonder Boys would cut that deficit in half before the break thanks to a pair of free throws by
Wes Harris and consecutive defensive steals that lead to fastbreak baskets on the other end. The first of those saw
Taelon Peter come away with the steal and Johnson finish on an assist by
Andre Leavell. The second saw Roberts with the steal and assist to Harris, who made a painted jumper.
In that first half, William Jewell seemingly couldn't miss as they shot 58% overall from the floor, making 18-of-31 shots. Nearly half of those makes came from beyond the arc as they shot 67% from three-point range, going 8-of-12. They were not as strong from the free throw line, making 4-of-9 for 44%.
While the Cardinals' numbers in the first half were impressive, the Wonder Boys were not far off with the exception of from range. Overall, Tech shot 50% in the first half, making 16-of-32 shots. From three-point range, however, they were just 2-of-9. Tech was also 8-of-11 from the free throw line for a 73% success rate.
Early in the second half, William Jewell was able to build back a double-digit lead and led by as much as 13 points at the 17:53 mark. Over the next almost six minutes of play, however, Tech would go on a 12-2 run to get within three points of the lead, 60-57, with 12:04 remaining.
The turning point of the game came soon thereafter at the 11:31 mark as Tech was whistled for a Class B Technical for a perceived flop attempt to draw an offensive foul. William Jewell made good on the one free throw attempt and then forced a turnover of Tech that turned into a three-point make on the other end.
That whole sequence was the start of a 9-0 scoring run by William Jewell over the next two minutes of play to suddenly put them back up by 12 points with just under 10 minutes left to play.
Tech was able to stem the tide and ripped off an 8-0 run of their own over a two-minute stretch to pull back close and within four points, 69-65, with 7:14 to play.
That would be as close as the Wonder Boys would get and by the 3:13 mark, the Cardinals would once more hold a double-digit lead.
Trailing by 10 just under two minutes left, the Wonder Boys made one final push.
Layups by Peter and Leavell made it a two-possession game with 1:17 left to play, but with time dwindling, the Wonder Boys were forced to send the Cardinals to the free throw line.
That is where William Jewell was able to ice the game and stave off the Wonder Boys as they made all eight of their free throw chances over the remainder of the game to bring the score to its final of 90-85.
Statistically, the Wonder Boys would have four players score in double figures and were led by Peter's 18. Just off his total and scoring 17 points was Harris. Davidson was next in scoring with 16 points and Roberts rounded out double-figure scoring with 13 points off the bench.
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a quick turnaround against host-school Drury as they take on the Panthers on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
