RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team fell to Southeastern at home in Tucker Coliseum by a final score of 61-68 on Saturday afternoon. Following the game, the Wonder Boys are 11-10 overall with a 9-6 record in Great American Conference play.

Both sides opened the first half of play hot going shot-for-shot as Niko Gosnell, Tommy Kamarad and Andre Leavell all knocked down shots for the Wonder Boys making it a close 6-7 game with 17:34 left to play in the first half of action. 

Over the next 4:09 in the game Southeastern would attempt to distance themselves from Arkansas Tech going on a 7-2 run to pull ahead 14-8. Taelon Peter would connect on a long range shot from beyond-the-arc to try and spark the Wonder Boys back into the game down six at 12-18 with 9:32 left to go in the half. 

Back-to-back layups from Leavell and Kade Shaffer in the paint would cut the Savage Storm lead down to just four as the Wonder Boys began to fight their way back 18-22.

The final five points in the half for the Wonder Boys would come at the charity stripe as Kamarad and Wes Harris would hit some freebies down the stretch of the half to keep their team in the game against Southeastern. The Wonder Boys would head into the locker room down 25-34. 

Peter would open up the scoring effort by the Wonder Boys to start the second half of play with a nice layup off the glass. Bj Johnson would follow with a two-point shot of his own inside the paint to keep the Wonder Boys within single digits of the Savage Storm lead. 

Another shot inside from Leavell and a three-point shot from long range by Peter off the assist from Leavell would get the Wonder Boys back within striking distance down just five points at 34-39 with 16:36 left to go in the second half of play.

The three-point shot by Peter would start a stretch of a shootout between both teams as both knocked down back-to-back triples to try and give their team the edge. Tech continued to pick up the pace and a steal by Leavell would lead to an open lane for the guard who finished at the rim for a nice layup. 

Peter would tie the game for the Wonder Boys with yet another bomb from beyond-the-arc to make it 42-42 with just over 15 minutes left to play in the game. 

Over the course of the next five minutes, both teams would knock down timely shots, but after a miss by Tech on offense, the Savage Storm would knock down a three-point basket to get themselves back in front 52-47 over the Wonder Boys. 

The Wonder Boys would not back down yet though as Gosnell sunk a shot at the line and a thunderous dunk by Kamarad on the fastbreak off the dish from Peter would get the crowd back in as they made it a one possession game down 50-52. 

Heading down the final stretch of the game, the Wonder Boys continued to stay within a pair of points of the Savage Storm. Southeastern would once again find away to get some offense with back-to-back baskets to take a 62-55 lead down the stretch. 

A successful 2-of-2 trip to the line for Peter and a pair of back-to-back layups for Harris in the paint off the passes from D'Rell Roberts and Leavell would make it just a 62-61 deficit for the Wonder Boys with 3:19 left to go. 

Ultimately, the foul calls for the remainder of the game would go the Savage Storms way as they took advantage of their opportunities at the line and would escape with the 68-61 win. 

Leading the way for the Wonder Boys against Southeastern was Peter with a 16 point and 10 rebound double-double on the afternoon. Peter also added an assist and a steal in his outing. Closing out the list of double figure scorers for the Wonder Boys was Leavell with 12 points on 60.0% (6-of-10) shooting from the floor. Leavell added six rebounds, five assists and two steals in his performance against the Savage Storm.

The Wonder Boys will hit the road for their next outing as they gear up for a road game in Shawnee, Okla. against Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Shawnee on Thursday night. 







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