RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team turned a 25-point halftime deficit into a six-point margin of defeat by the final horn behind a net-burning 51-second half points as the Wonder Boys fell at home to league-leading Oklahoma Baptist by a score of 76-70.
 
Early action was close between the Wonder Boys (8-13, 5-10 GAC) and the Bison (16-6, 13-3 GAC), but Oklahoma Baptist was out in front for all but a few seconds of the game when it was tied at two-all. Right around the 13:30 mark, Oklahoma Baptist began to gain separation from the Wonder Boys.
 
Over the next four minutes or so of action, the Bison turned a two-point lead into a double-digit lead, 21-10, with 9:22 left in the first half. The Bison then methodically stretched the lead over the 20-point mark and got it as high as 27 points before heading into the locker room with the aforementioned 25-point lead.
 
In that opening half, Oklahoma Baptist shot just under 50% (17-of-35) overall from the floor and was 5-of-10 from three-point range while the Wonder Boys shot just under 30% (8-of-27) overall from floor and were just 1-of-8 from three-point range.
 
Despite the sizable deficit at the break, the Wonder Boys remained resilient and fought hard throughout the second half to make the score and final outcome more than respectable.
 
Trailing by 23 points with 13:34 left, the Wonder Boys would go on a 14-3 run over the next four minutes or so of action to cut the deficit down to just a dozen.
 
The Bison eventually stopped that run and built a lead back as high as 18 points, 68-50, with 6:01 left to play. The Wonder Boys quickly made it an 11-point game with a 7-0 burst over the next two minutes of action.
 
Again the Bison were able to stem the tide and remained out in front.
 
The Wonder Boys would put forth one more surge over the final 1:17 of the game and out-scored Oklahoma Baptist 9-2 the rest of the way out to bring the score to its eventual final of 76-70.
 
That second-half surge saw the Wonder Boys out-score Oklahoma Baptist 51-32. The Wonder Boys also had a field goal percentage of nearly 60% (19-of-32) overall from the floor and knocked down 7-of-14 three-pointers as well.
 
Overall, the Wonder Boys shot 46% (27-of-59) overall and made eight three-pointers.
 
Three Wonder Boys scored in double figures for Tech with Tony Hall leading the way with 17 points. Calvin Allen was next with 14 points. Cejay Mann rounded out double-figure scoring with 13 points.
 
The Wonder Boys will remain at home and prepare to take on Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum.