RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - A hard fought night in Tucker Coliseum was had for the Arkansas Tech Men's Basketball team, but they grind out the tough 68-63 win over the Harding Bisons. The Wonder Boys move to 8-12 overall on the season with a 5-9 record among Great American Conference opponents.
Four members of the Wonder Boys ended the night in double-figure scoring numbers.
Cameron Kennedy lead the way with solid offense and defense as well as a 14 point and 11 rebound double-double. Kennedy also picked up three assists, a steal and two big blocks for Arkansas Tech.
Niko Gosnell,
Calvin Allen and
Tony Hall closed out the double figure scorers as the trio each score 12 points. Gosnell had two blocks and six rebounds while Allen pulled in two boards and had three assists. Hall had four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
The Wonder Boys opened the scoring effort in the first half with a pair of threes from Hall and Kennedy to quickly make it a 6-2 lead early. Tech continued to score the ball well in the opening minutes finding a 7-0 run capped off by a three ball from Kennedy to take a 15-7 lead over the Bisons with 13:46 left in the first half.
Following a timeout, Harding found some offense hitting back to back two point shots to cut into the Tech, but not before
Cejay Mann could nail a triple to extend the Tech lead back out. A jump shot from Bj Johnson would keep Tech in front with a 24-19 lead with 7:02 left in the first half. The Bisons would take their first lead of the game since their opening bucket at 27-24 with an 8-0 run to pile the pressure on late in the first half. Gosnell and Mann would stop the cold streak on offense for the Wonder Boys as Gosnell flushed home a monster dunk and Mann connecting on a three to take back a 29-27 lead over Harding.
Another three point basket from Kennedy would extend the Tech lead. The Bisons would close the half as the stronger team however making a triple, a layup and free throw to head into the break with a 36-34 lead over Arkansas Tech.
Harding quickly got to work to open the second half with a layup and three pointer to put them up over Tech 41-34 early in the second. Gosnelll and Hall put the Wonder Boys back in the game with a fastbreak layup and a pair of made free throws. Kennedy and Hall would be the ones to put the Wonder Boys back into the lead as the pair knocked down back-to-back triples to take a 44-43 lead over the Bisons with 15:40 left in the second half.
Harding would take back the lead once again with their own pair of back-to-back three's. The Bison's would try and pull away, but the Wonder Boy's continued to chip into their lead despite foul trouble. Peter Taelon would put Tech back on top once again following a 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line. From here, both sides began trading buckets leading to eight total lead changes in the last nine minutes of play.
Arkansas Tech finally found the spark they needed to close out the game with 5:04 left as Taelon threw down a ferocious fast break dunk to give them a 60-59 lead over Harding with 5:04 left to play. A layup from Gosnell and two from Allen gave Tech some breathing room as they started to pull away from Harding in the final minutes holding a 66-63 lead.
Gosnell would be the one to truly put the Wonder Boys in the drivers seat however. With just seven seconds left on the clock, Harding committed a foul on Gosnell on an inbounds pass that sent him to the line. Gosnell shut the door on the Bisons hope of a comeback nailing both free throws to send them packing and gave the Wonder Boys the 68-63 win.
The Wonder Boys return to play on Thursday, February 10 in Tucker Coliseum as the Oklahoma Baptist Bison come to town for a GAC matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. that evening following the conclusion of the Golden Sun's game prior.
