RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech and Henderson State remain in a two-way for first place in the Great American Conference standings after both recorded a road victory to highlight the league’s Thursday night men’s basketball contests.
ARKANSAS TECH 74, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 73
MONTICELLO, Ark. – Arkansas Tech (15-4, 7-2 GAC) captured its fourth consecutive victory on Thursday night, but had to earn every point in a 74-73 win over Arkansas-Monticello (15-6, 5-4 GAC) to give the Boll Weevils their first loss at home inside Steelman Field House this season. With the win, ATU moved the season series to 1-1 after UAM beat the Wonder Boys in Russellville on January 5. Thursday night’s back-and-forth battle featured 14 lead changes, but the most significant was a last second basket by ATU’s Johnie Davis to give his team a one-point win to remain in a tie for first place in the GAC standings. Neither team led by more than five points in entire first half and in the final five minutes of regulation. ATU held the largest lead of the second half at seven points following a three-pointer from Jeremy Hoard at the 13:36 mark. ATU finished the contest with the edge in shooting at 48.2 percent to UAM’s 42.6 percent. The Wonder Boys also took advantage of its three point attempts, sinking 9-of-14. UAM made 5-of-12 from beyond the arc. UAM’s Sergio Crowe led all scorers with 20 points, while also adding a game-high seven rebounds. Matt Haney led the Wonder Boys with 18 points.
EAST CENTRAL 75, OUACHITA BAPTIST 70
ADA, Okla. – East Central (4-15, 1-8 GAC) secured its first ever Great American Conference victory on Thursday night by defeating Ouachita Baptist (11-8, 4-5 GAC) at home by a final score of 75-70. ECU used a 48-38 second half scoring advantage and 58 percent shooting in the final period to seal the win. Neither team found a rhythm in the first half with OBU shooting 34.5 percent and ECU at 37 percent. ECU led the first 15 minutes of the first half, growing its lead to as much as 11 points at the 10:32 mark of the opening period on a three-pointer from Bobby McAdoo. OBU gained a double-digit lead at the 16:56 mark of the second half on a three-pointer from Austin Mitchel to give his team a 43-33 lead. A layup from ECU’s Hayden Darst with 51 seconds remaining in regulation sparked a 6-0 run in the final minute to give his team the victory. Caprest Rhone made 4-of-4 foul shots in the final minute to keep OBU from apossible last second tying attempt. ECU’s Darnell Davis collected a game-high 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench, and also tied teammate Caprest Rhone for a game-high nine rebounds. Austin Mitchel led OBU with 17 points.
HENDERSON STATE 77, SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 73
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State (11-7, 3-6 GAC) cut a 14-point deficit with five minutes remaining to a three-point deficit with less than a minute to go, but could not overcome a 63.6 percent second half shooting performance by Henderson State (12-7, 7-2 GAC) to allow the Reddies to captured a 77-73 road victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday night. HSU is now 2-0 against SWOSU this season. The Bulldogs held a lead for the majority of thefirst half, and used a 16-6 scoring in the final seven minutes of the opening period to hold a seven point lead at halftime. The roles reversed in the second half. HSU grabbed the final lead change of the contest with 14:47 remaining in regulation, and escalated that lead to double-digits by the 9:54 mark. The Reddies held a 14-point lead on four different occasions from the 8:57 mark to the 5:16 mark. The Bulldogs responded with a 12-2 scoring run to cut the HSU lead to four points with 2:21 left on the clock. Just over a minute later, SWOSU pulled to within three points on a layup from Filip Toric, but the Reddies answered with a three-pointer from Deoirvay Johnson to maintain a two-possession lead. SWOSU’s Thomas Davis collected a game-high 24 points, while Denzel Lyles led the Reddies with 18 points.
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 77, SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 54
DURANT, Okla. – Southern Arkansas (12-9, 5-4 GAC) held Southeastern Oklahoma State (7-14, 3-6 GAC) under 30 points in each half to capture a 77-54 win on the road over the Savage Storm on Thursday night. It was SAU’s second win over Southeastern this season. The Muleriders shot 56 percent in the first half (14-of-25) and 62.5 percent in the second half (15-of-24) for a season-high 59.2 percent for the game. SAU led for the entire contest, with the exception of one tie score in the first two minutes of the first half. The Muleridersreached a double-digit lead at the 6:56 mark of the opening period, and held a double-digit advantage for the entirety of the second half following a three-pointer by Chase Sprueill in the first possession of the final period. Spruiell led all scorers with 18 points, while also adding a game-high eight rebounds. Chris Roussell led the Savage Storm with 13 points.