ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – A double-digit first-half lead for the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team ended in an absolute dog fight to the finish on Saturday afternoon at Henderson State, but ultimately it was the Wonder Boys who would emerge victorious, 68-65.
The win extended the Wonder Boys' winning streak to six and improved their overall record to 6-2 and their conference record to 3-0.
Prior to Tech gaining that aforementioned double-digit lead, the early goings of the game were tightly contested and back-and-forth in nature. Through the first 10 minutes or so of the first half, neither team held a lead larger than four points and there were two tie scores and five lead changes.
The fifth of those lead changes also represented the final lead change of the game and went in favor of Tech as
Kade Shaffer made good on a Fastbreak layup at the 11:56 mark. Over the next three minutes or so of game action, the Wonder Boys built upon their lead and got it eight points by the 8:49 mark.
Right at a minute later, the Reddies had pulled within six off a pair of made free throws, but on the ensuing trip down the floor, Shaffer buried a three-pointer that sparked a 10-0 run that gave Tech their largest lead of the game of 16 points, 32-16, with 5:27 to play in the first half.
The Tech lead would remain in double digits for a majority of the finish of the first half, but a 5-0 scoring burst over the final 36 seconds of the half by Henderson made it just a five-point game heading into the break.
In the second half, both teams struggled some offensively as they each shot in the 30-35% range. Despite the hampered offense, the Wonder Boys still held a lead over the Reddies throughout the entirety of the second half and were able to work it back to a double-digit advantage by the halfway point.
The highest lead of the second half for the Wonder Boys came moments after getting it a 10-point lead as Shaffer knocked down another trifecta, this time with 9:28 to go. Over the next stretch of action, however, the Reddies began to mount a comeback and ripped off a 7-0 run to pull within six points with 7:41 to go in the half.
Tech would have an answer on the other end thanks to a three-ball by
Cassius Brooks, but the lead was quickly back to six as the Reddies hit a three of their own.
Over the next stretch of action, the Wonder Boys would go cold from the floor, but remained sharp from the free throw line to help keep them in the lead. The Reddie surge continued and by the 2:53 mark, the lead was down to two points, 64-62.
Finally, at the 2:16 mark, the Wonder Boys got their first made field goal since Brooks' deep three at the 7:01 mark on a tip-in layup by
Tommy Kamarad to take a four-point lead, 66-62.
That four-point lead, however, dwindled to a single point by the minute mark and after the Wonder Boys and Reddies traded turnovers, it was Tech at the free throw line with 17 seconds left for a one-and-one opportunity. The front end unfortunately was missed and the Reddies came down with the defensive rebound.
Now with the ball, the shot clock off and trailing by just a point, the Reddies had at least one chance at a go-ahead or game-winning bucket. As it turned out, they would get two chances at such a shot over the final ticks of the clock as the Wonder Boys' defense stood tall on the first chance and registered a massive block from behind that went out of bounds with just seven second left.
On the Reddies second attempt, the Tech defense rose to the occasion once more and collapsed in the paint on the driving Reddie and blocked the shot once more. This time it was
Josh Mitchell who came away with the denial and this time it was the Wonder Boys'
Taelon Peter who got the rebound and was subsequently fouled with 0.9 seconds left on the clock.
Peter, the current DII National Player of the Week, was relatively held in check to that point of the game, with just 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting overall, but was clutch at the line as he made both attempts.
Mathematically with a chance for a miracle game-tying three on an in-bound play, the Reddies would turn the ball over on that opportunity, sealing the win for the Wonder Boys.
A trio of Wonder Boys ended up scoring in double figures for Tech and were led by Kamarad and his 18 points. Shaffer's 15 points came off the bench and Peter added 12.
The Wonder Boys will now return home and prepare for an annual favorite as they will take on Arkansas Baptist in the Screaming Kids Day game where close to 1,000 area elementary school students will be in attendance for the 11 a.m. tip-off!
