RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The final home game of the regular season for the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team turned out to be an instant classic as Tech and Southern Arkansas needed not one, but two overtime periods to decide the winner. Unfortunately, Tech would come up just short against SAU, losing 85-83.
The loss dropped the Wonder Boys to 14-14 overall and 12-10 in the GAC, which placed them fifth in the final league standings. Tech, who will be making their first appearance in the GAC Tournament since 2017-18, will now play as the No. 5-seed in the upcoming tournament and will take on No. 4-seed East Central. That game will take place on Friday, February 3 with a scheduled tip-off time of 5:45 p.m.
In the game against SAU, the Wonder Boys fell behind early as the Muleriders (19-9, 15-7 GAC) jumped out to a 7-0 lead through the first two minutes of action. The Wonder Boys responded with a 7-0 run of their own to knot the game with just over 16 minutes left in the first half.
As the opening half played on, the Muleriders would take control and grabbed a double-digit lead just under the eight-minute mark. The Wonder Boys would fight their way back into the game and got as close as six points at the 3:43 mark as
Taelon Peter buried a three-pointer. SAU staved off that surge and went into the locker room with a 10-point lead.
In that first half, SAU shot 54% overall from the floor, 60% from three-point range and 78% from the free throw line. Conversely, the Wonder Boys were limited to 39% shooting overall, 25% from three-point range and 29% from the free throw line.
The offensive fortunes of the Wonder Boys shifted in the second half as they shot an efficient 60% overall and 55% from long distance. The defense also fared better for Tech in the second half as they limited the Muleriders to 39% shooting overall and 33% from three-point range.
That shift played out from the outset of the second half as the Wonder Boys went on a 16-5 run that flipped their 10-point halftime deficit into a one-point lead, 45-44, with 13:57 to play. The biggest part of that early sequence saw the Wonder Boys make five-of-six shots with four of those being three-pointers.
Peter started the surge with a trifecta at the 17:49 mark.
BJ Johnson then had a Fastbreak layup while Peter and D'Rell Roberts traded three-point makes.
The Wonder Boys would remain in front until the 5:28 mark when SAU hit a three to take a one-point lead. That was short-lived, however, as Peter answered back with a three of his own. The Wonder Boys then built their lead out to as much as seven points with 3:17 to play, but the Muleriders would not go quietly and eventually tied the game on a three-pointer with just three seconds left in regulation.
Tech would get a potential game-winning shot off, but it would not fall, sending the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, Tech jumped out to a six-point lead with just under three minutes on the clock following a thunderous ally-oop dunk from Roberts to Peter. As they did at the end of regulation, however, SAU battled back and hit a pair of threes to tie the score and ultimately force a second overtime period.
This time it was SAU that grabbed the early advantage as they scored the first four points of the second overtime. Tech got their first points of the overtime period at the 2:18 mark on a layup by Johnson. The Muleriders split a pair of trips to the free throw line over their next few possessions to keep it a four-point game.
With just 14 seconds left and Tech still trailing by four,
Tommy Kamarad hit a mid-range jumper and was fouled in the process, sending him to the line for an old-fashioned three-point play. Kamarad made good on the bonus and Tech was now trailing by just a single point.
After quickly sending the Muleriders to the free throw line following Kamarad's three-point play, the Wonder Boys were still very much in the game as the Muleriders split the trip the charity stripe again, leaving it a two-point game with 11 seconds to go.
With the shot clock off, the Wonder Boys would have a chance at the final shot of the period to either tie with a two-point basket, or win it outright with a three-pointer. As was the case at the end of regulation, the Wonder Boys would get the attempt off, but it was would not fall, ending the game this time in favor of SAU.
In the loss, the Wonder Boys were led in scoring by Peter as he set another new career-high in scoring with 33 points. Peter added eight rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals to his ledger. Roberts was next in scoring and the only other Wonder Boy to reach double figures as he scored a season-high 18 points. Roberts also filled out his stat line nicely with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
