RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – For just the second time this season, the Arkansas Tech men's basketball team suffered a loss at home as they fell to Southern Nazarene by a score 67-52 on Thursday night inside Tucker Coliseum.
In the game, the Wonder Boys were hindered by a tough shooting night throughout as they were held to their lowest field goal percentage of the season at 31% (19-of-62). Conversely, the Crimson Storm were efficient on their offensive attack shooting close to 50% overall for the game (22-of-46).
In relation to the shooting percentages for both teams, a couple of areas stood out as difference makers in the eventual outcome. Firstly, from three-point range, SNU shot 50%, making 8-of-16. All but three of those makes came in the second half as they were able to keep the Wonder Boys from generating a significant comeback run.
The second area of noticeable difference was at the free throw line. The Crimson Storm made 15-of-21 from the charity stripe for a 71% success rate. On the other end, the Wonder Boys shot 67% at the line, but attempted only 12 free throws for the game.
As far as how the game played out, the Wonder Boys were starting to gain control early and held a 9-5 lead with 16:54 to go in the first half. On their next two possessions, the Wonder Boys had a chance to get the packed crowd into a wild frenzy had they made either of their three-point tries.
Unfortunately, neither shot fell and Southern Nazarene then began to flip the momentum in their favor by engineering a 10-0 run over a four-minute stretch to turn a four-point deficit into a six-point lead with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. The Crimson Storm began to build on that lead throughout the remainder of the half and went into the locker room with a 12-point advantage.
SNU would not let off the accelerator in the second half and by the 12:33 mark pushed their lead out over the 20-point margin.
Trailing by 22 with just over 11 minutes left, the Wonder Boys had a big push in them as they went on a 9-0 run over the next two and a half minutes or so of action to pull within 13 points. The Wonder Boys would only get a point closer the rest of the way out, however, as SNU maintained a double-digit lead through the final horn.
Statistically,
Taelon Peter was the only Wonder Boy to reach double figures in scoring with 17.
The Wonder Boys will now look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon at home against Oklahoma Baptist. Tip-off against the Bison is scheduled for 3 p.m. from inside Tucker Coliseum.
