RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team picked up a strong 78-64 home win in Tucker Coliseum on Saturday afternoon over Southwestern Oklahoma State. With the win over the Bulldogs, the Wonder Boys have officially secured their spot in the Great American Conference Tournament which is set to begin on Thursday, March 2 following the conclusion to the 2023 regular season conference schedule.
The Wonder Boys (14-12, 12-8 GAC) would battle bucket-for-bucket with the Bulldogs (12-14, 8-12 GAC) to open the game. A layup off the glass following an offensive rebound by
Niko Gosnell as well as a layup following an offensive rebound by Bj Johnson would give the Wonder Boys some room to breathe as they pulled out to a 9-6 lead at the 16:08 mark in the first half of play.
Later in the first half, the Wonder Boys saw hot hands from
Tommy Kamarad,
Kade Shaffer and
Andre Leavell as all three pulled up and nailed long range triples from beyond-the-arc on three straight offensive possessions to extend the Wonder Boy lead out to double figures at 20-9. The ball movement by the Wonder Boys on those offensive possessions were crisp as all three triples came off of assists.
Before the half was over, Shaffer and
Taelon Peter would fire away and knock down two more three balls for the Wonder Boys.
The Bulldogs would try and make a push down the stretch of the first half by getting to the free throw line, but the Wonder Boys offensive fire power would be too much to put a dent in as Tech headed into the halftime break holding a 12-point 37-25 lead over Southwestern Oklahoma.
In the second half, the Wonder Boys would continue to extend and hold the lead over the Bulldogs that would grow to as large as 20 as a steal by Shaffer at the 11:07 mark of the second half led to a coast-to-coast finish at the rack for the Russellville, Ark. native that put his team up 57-37.
After a made three-point basket from Kamarad that kept the Wonder Boys in front by 18 with 6:41 left to play, the Bulldogs began to push back and climb back in the game.
Over the next 3:50 of the game the Bulldogs put together an 11-3 run, largely by forcing their way to the charity stripe, to cut the Wonder Boy lead down to 10 at 70-60 with 3:51 left to play in the game.
Following the run by the Bulldogs, the Wonder Boys would pull together and get some key defensive stops down the stretch of the second half holding the Bulldogs scoreless until the 1:17 mark. In that time, the Wonder Boys were able to put up a few points to put the game back in their favor at a double digit lead at 75-62.
Ultimately, their key defensive stops and timely shot making down the stretch of the second half led to the Wonder Boys finishing the job and collecting the 78-64 home win against Southwestern Oklahoma to clinch their spot in the GAC Tournament.
Individually, the Wonder Boys saw four players put up double digits in scoring and were led by Peter's 18 points on 50.0% (6-of-12) shooting from field goal range. Peter also went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line, hauled in four rebounds, assisted on two baskets, stole three balls and blocked a shot in his performance against the Bulldogs.
Leavell,
Wes Harris and Shaffer all scored 11 points in the game and were vital in securing the home win over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Leavell posted team-highs in both rebounds and assists with nine and five, respectively. Harris pulled in eight rebounds and went 3-of-4 from the field, while Shaffer went 4-of-7 from the floor, 3-of-6 from long range and assisted four buckets.
The Wonder Boys will wrap up the 2023 regular season next week and will begin their week with a road game in Arkadelphia, Ark. against Henderson State. The game against the Reddies is set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Thursday evening in Arkadelphia.
