BETHANY, Okla. – The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team suffered their first loss in Great American Conference action and had their overall 11-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon as the Wonder Boys fell on the road at Southern Nazarene by a single point, 78-77.
Just two days after battling through adversity on the road at Oklahoma Baptist, the Wonder Boys found themselves in a similar position on Saturday and the team displayed similar resolve on several occasions as they overcame sizable deficits to keep the game within reach.
The first of those efforts saw the Wonder Boys trim a 13-point deficit down to a single point as they closed out the final four minutes of the first half on a 14-2 run. Nine of those points were scored by
Taelon Peter who was red hot in the first half with 17 points.
In the second half, Southern Nazarene remained out in front and by the 12:42 mark had pushed their lead to its largest of the half, eight points, 52-44. The Wonder Boys had the response and quickly ripped off a 7-0 run over the next minute to pull back within a point, 52-51. Once more it was Peter who played a significant role in the run as he had the final four points after
Seybian Sims hit a three-pointer to spark it.
As soon as the Wonder Boys were able to cut the lead back down to a point, SNU called timeout, prompting the under-12 media timeout. After the stoppage, the Crimson Storm once more extended their lead out to eight points, this time with just under 10 minutes left.
The Crimson Storm would remain in the lead over the next stretch and were looking to close things out over the final three and a half minutes as they had another eight-point lead, 74-66.
Resilient throughout the game, the Wonder Boys had one more big comeback effort in them. Over the next two minutes or so of action, the Wonder Boys ripped off an 8-0 run to knot the score at 74-all. The tying basket was a painted jumper by
Cassius Brooks.
Moments later, the Crimson Storm were able to not relinquish the lead with a successful trip to the free throw line. Then with right at 30 seconds left, the Crimson Storm had the ball and were looking to at least double their lead, but a great defensive play by Brooks netted him a steal and he finished on the other end to once more tie the score, this time at 76-all. Unfortunately, the Crimson Storm were once more able to keep the Wonder Boys from capturing the lead as they made two more free throws.
On the ensuing possession, the Wonder Boys pulled back within a point following a split trip to the free throw line. On SNU's final possession, the Wonder Boys successfully trapped the ball in the corner of the back court, but were whistled for a foul, sending the Crimson Storm back to the free throw line with just over four seconds left.
This time, however, both attempts at the line were missed and Tech had the defensive board and a chance as a game-winning basket, but time ultimately ran out before they could get a shot off.
Statistically, the Wonder Boys had four players score in double figures and were led by Peter, who ended with 23 points. The junior native of Russellville is now just at 997 career points as a Wonder Boy and on the cusp of becoming the 35
th player all-time at Tech to score at least 1,000 points. Behind him in scoring was Brooks with 16.
Tommy Kamarad followed with 15 points while
Kade Shaffer rounded out double-figure scoring with 11 points.
The Wonder Boys will now return home for a pair of games next week. The first of those is a Thursday night game against Northwestern Oklahoma. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
