WONDER BOYS CONCLUDE SEASON WITH LOSS TO HARDING
IN GSC TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS

        SOUTHAVEN, Mississippi – Arkansas Tech Men’s Basketball concluded its 2007-08 season here Friday by falling 73-51 to Harding in the first game of the quarterfinals of the 2008 GSC Tournament at the DeSoto County Civic Center.

Tech, who finishes with an 18-11 record, can reflect back on its most successful season in 12 years.

Among the accomplishments achieved by the Wonder Boys this season were they earned its first-ever NCAA Division II postseason win with Wednesday’s 65-49 victory over Alabama-Huntsville and finished with its first winning season in eight years and only third since joining the Division II level in 1996. In addition, Tech had a 12-win improvement this season from last year (Tech won six games last season) and won eight GSC games for just the first time since the 1999-00 season and opened GSC play 4-0 for the first time since joining the league in 1996.

“I am proud of our team and our coaching staff this season,” Tech Head Coach Mark Downey said. “We achieved a lot of milestones this season and began to turn the corner. We will continue to move forward and be successful, but this season gives us something to build on.”

 In Friday’s game, Tech, who entered the game having defeated the Bisons twice this season, struggled shooting as the ball as the Wonder Boys were held to a season-low 27 percent field goal percentage and also shot just 14 percent (3-for-21) from the 3-point line.

“We couldn’t attack well tonight due to our foul trouble, but you’re not going to win many games when you shoot that poorly,” the second-year Tech coach said. “They were very physical today and we weren’t for some reason.”

In the first half, it appeared that the game would come down to the wire like the previous two contests as the game featured six ties in the first 16 minutes of the game, before Harding seized the momentum thanks to ending the half on an 8-0 run to go into halftime with a 32-24 advantage.

“We wanted to play zone tonight, but we got behind and needed to play catch-up,” the Tech coach said. “This game will motivate us to stay hungry for next year.”

Harding opened the second half outscoring Tech, 15-5 run to push out to a 47-29 lead following a lay-up by Kevin Brown. Following Brown’s lay-up, Tech used a quick 5-0 spurt to pull within 47-34 with 12:35 left in the game following a three-pointer by sophomore Renard Allen (New Orleans, La.).

Allen’s trey would be as close as Tech would get as the Bisons increased its lead to as much as 24 points with 1:21 remaining following two free throws by Philip Groves. Tech would close the game’s scoring on a jumper by sophomore guard Brandon Friedel (Victoria, Texas) with 46 ticks left in the contest.

“Harding was well-prepared and they did their homework,” junior guard Jamar Flowers said. “They made some runs and we didn’t answer.”

Junior guard Chad Henderson (Memphis, Tenn.) led the way with 12 points, while Flowers added 10 points as he battled foul trouble most of the game. Sophomore forward Irvin Humphrey (Boutte, La.) pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. 

Meanwhile, Harding (17-11 on the season) was paced by Matt Hall’s 22 points and eight rebounds. Brown added 17 points off the bench and Trent Morgan chipped in with 15 points.

For the game, Tech held a 46-38 edge on the glass, including picking up 19 offensive caroms, but committed 20 turnovers that led to 24 Harding points and shot just 56 percent (14-for-25) from the free throw line.

 Harding Box Score

-- Tech Athletics --