BOX SCORE || BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Arkansas Tech continued its hot shooting performances at the 2015 Great American Conference Men’s Basketball Championships as in its 85-74 win against Southwestern Oklahoma State; the Wonder Boys shot 54.7 percent from the field and 52.9 percent on their 3-point tries on Saturday night inside Bruin Fieldhouse.
The Wonder Boys (17-13) extended their win streak to four for the first time this season. In each of the last three games, they have scored at least 80 points. In two GAC Tournament games, Arkansas Tech has shot 53.0 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from the 3-point arc.
One day after making a school-record tying 19 3-pointers, the Wonder Boys came back with a 9-for-17 performance from the arc. Mike Balogun went 4-for-6 from the 3-point distance en route to scoring 23 points, one of two Wonder Boys to reach the 20-point mark. Jay Murphy hit three 3-pointers, went 7-for-10 from the floor and 8-for-10 from the free-throw line scoring a game-high 25 points. He has averaged 20.5 points on 66.7 percent field goal shooting at the GAC Championships.
After leading by eight at halftime, the Wonder Boys pushed the margin to as large as 19 towards the latter stages of the second half. SWOSU used a valiant 18-5 run to pull to within six at 74-68, but Tech made 10-of-11 free throws down the stretch to lock up a third finals trip in four seasons in the GAC. The Wonder Boys will attempt to join Ouachita Baptist, in 2013, and Harding, in 2014, as the third straight No. 5 seed to leave Bartlesville as the men’s champion.
Martell Collins paced the Bulldogs with 24 points and 10 rebounds as they attempted to become the first No. 8 seed to make the title game. SWOSU converted 14 offensive rebounds, five from Collins, into 20 points.
The Wonder Boys will play for the GAC title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament at 3:30 PM on Sunday. They will face the second-seeded East Central Tigers. ECU swept Arkansas Tech during the regular season, including a 78-54 decision in Ada on February 19, the Wonder Boys’ last loss of the season. A win would make Arkansas Tech the first two-time tournament champion in GAC history.