MANKATO, Minn. – The 2023-24 Great American Conference regular season and tournament champion Arkansas Tech men's basketball team saw their spectacular season come to and close on Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the Central Region Tournament with a 75-68 loss to host and top-seed, Minnesota State.
The bittersweet defeat put the finishing touches on a season that saw the Wonder Boys basketball program finish with a 25-7 overall record, an 18-4 record in conference play and a 12-2 record at home. The 25 wins this season gave the program its 10th season with 25 or more wins and was the first since 2011-12.
Tasked with taking on the top-seed and nationally-ranked No. 2 Mavericks, the Wonder Boys were more than up for the challenge and put a legitimate scare into the over 4,000 in attendance that were pro-Minnesota State, especially in the first half.
In that opening half, the Wonder Boys held their own against the high-powered offensive attack of the Mavericks with their trademark solid defense. Coupled with that, the Wonder Boys were also making shots on the offensive end and held eight leads throughout the first half. Their largest lead of the first half for the Wonder Boys was five points and they did that twice.
All told, the first half was super competitive and featured 13 different lead changes and five tie scores. The last two lead changes of the first half came in a fury over the final 20 seconds as Minnesota State nabbed the final lead change on a layup with three seconds left, giving the Mavericks a one-point lead into the locker room, 36-35.
Out of the break, the Mavericks caught fire from long range as their first eight field goal makes in the second half came from beyond the arc. Their ninth and final three-pointer made in the second half came at the 9:22 mark of the second half and gave the Mavericks their largest lead of the night, 14 points, 67-53.
Despite a packed arena at near full-throat for their Mavericks at the moment, the Wonder Boys dug in their heels and began to work their way back into the game. They would get as close as five points by the 5:39 mark thanks to a 9-0 run.
The Mavericks responded and built their lead back out to nine points with 3:11 to, but a quick 4-0 burst by the Wonder Boys over the next minute of play had them back within five points, 71-66 with 2:12 to play. Unfortunately, the Mavericks were able to do just enough from the free throw line down the stretch to hold off the Wonder Boys and come away with a seven-point margin of victory.
Statistically, the Wonder Boys had three players score in double figures and were led by
Cassius Brooks with 22 points. Brooks, the 2024 GAC Tournament MVP, was 7-of-13 from the floor, 2-of-4- from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Just behind Brooks in scoring was
Kade Shaffer as he scored a career-high 20 points.
Tommy Kamarad rounded out double-figure scoring with an even 10 points.
