RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech men's basketball team picked up their first win of the season on Wednesday night as they had a strong second half performance to come away with a 65-60 win at home over Northeastern State.
In the first half, the Wonder Boys and RiverHawks battled back-and-forth throughout as there were eight lead changes and three tie scores. The largest lead for either team in that opening 20 minutes was eight, achieved by Northeastern State, but it did not come until the final minute of the period.
The RiverHawks would carry a six-point lead into the locker room and remained in the lead throughout the early stages of the second half. After trailing by as much as eight points at the 16:33 mark, the Wonder Boys took the lead, 45-44, at the 12:49 mark.
That lead did not last long, however, as the RiverHawks went back in front on a two-for-two trip to the free throw line on their next possession. Neither team would score over the next three minutes or so of action as the score held 46-45, in favor of the RiverHawks.
Northeastern State was able to break that scoring stalemate with another two makes from the free throw line at the 9:03 mark, but the Wonder Boys answered right back with a clutch three-pointer from
Connor Davis to tie the game at 48-all.
The RiverHawks broke the tie just under the eight-minute mark and were up 50-48. The Wonder Boys then proceeded to go on a game-changing 12-0 run over the next four and a half minutes to suddenly put them up by double digits with under four minutes to play. During that stretch, the Wonder Boys got seven points from Davis who hit a three-pointer and had a pair of layups.
The run eventually prompted NSU to call a timeout at the 3:11 mark to force the final media timeout of the second half. It proved to be a well-timed decision as the RiverHawks cut the Tech lead all way down to just two points, 62-60, with 49 seconds left to play. Northeastern State had a chance to even get within a point as they were fouled on the play that drew them within two points, but the and-one attempt from the line was no good.
With time on their side, the Wonder Boys had possession and Northeastern State needed to foul three-straight times to send Tech to the free throw line in hopes of extending the game. At the line for a pivotal one-and-one,
Sam Bradford made the first attempt to put Tech up by three and get to the second attempt.
That attempt was unfortunately no good and Northeastern State came away with the rebound. After getting the ball into the front court, the RiverHawks called a timeout to set up for a potential game-tying three-pointer. They would get the shot they drew up, but Bradford got enough of the shot to alter it and then put the finishing touches on the game with a runout layup to make the final score 65-60.
The Wonder Boys had four players score in double figures and were led by Bradford and
David Elliott IV with 14 points each. Davis added 12 points off the bench while
Brody Emberton rounded out double-figure scoring with 10 points.
Tech will now prepare for a quick turnaround as they will hit the road for a Friday afternoon game at Missouri Western. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
