RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A mid-November game inside Tucker Coliseum felt every bit like a March heavyweight battle as Arkansas Tech and Pittsburg State played a back-and-forth high-scoring nailbiter on Thursday night. Unfortunately, it was Pitt State that would emerge victorious in the top-tier contest, narrowly beating Tech by a score of 88-86.
The tightness of the game between the Golden Suns and Gorillas played out on the stat sheet with a remarkable 12 tie scores and 14 lead changes over the course of the 40-minute classic.
The first quarter was definitely a sign of things to come as through that period of play, the score was tied at 20-all and there were five tie scores and three lead changed. By the end of the second quarter, the lead was only two for the Golden Suns thanks to a late layup by
Pacious McDaniel.
In the second half, the Golden Suns began to create some separation from the Gorillas and led the entire third quarter and held a lead as large as seven points, 61-54, with 2:30 left in the third quarter. The Gorillas, however, were able to fight back and ended the third period trailing by just a point, 64-63.
The fourth quarter started out with a fury of back-and-forth action with six lead changes over the just the first two minutes of play. The final lead change during that barrage was in favor of Tech and came on a jumper by McDaniel. The Golden Suns later pushed the lead out to its apex of eight points, 79-71, at the 5:48 mark.
Trailing by that margin at the 4:11 mark, 81-73, the Gorillas mounted a comeback run that saw them eventually knot the score at 83-all at the 2:34 mark. Moments later, the Gorillas took the lead on a jumper by Sydney Holmes with 2:03 left. That would be the final lead change of the night as Pitt State held on to the lead the rest of the way out.
Tech would have a chance at the end for the potential tying basket or go-ahead three-pointer, but an unfortunate tie-up and alternating possession not in their favor thwarted that opportunity.
Statistically, the Golden Suns were fantastic on offense as they made 54% of their shots from the floor (33-of-61). They were also successful 50% of the time in limited attempts from three-point range as they made 4-of-8. From the charity stripe, the Golden Suns were 16-of-24 (67%).
Three players scored in double figures with McDaniel leading the charge with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting.
Alex Hill was next with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Dana Thompson rounded out double-figure scoring with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
The Golden Suns will now prepare for a road non-conference game this next week ahead of Thanksgiving as they will travel to Fort Smith to take on Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tip-off against the Lions is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21 from the Stubblefield Center.
