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WONDER BOYS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO FOUR WITH IMPRESSIVE
HOME VICTORY OVER NEWMAN UNIVERSITY
RUSSELLVILLE,
Arkansas
–
Arkansas Tech Men’s Basketball returned to action
following a two-week layoff here Thursday by posting an
impressive 94-70 victory over Newman University in
non-conference action at Tucker Coliseum.
Tech, who improved to 9-3 on the season, has
now won four straight games and is off to its best start
since the 2005-06 season when the Wonder Boys opened
with nine wins in its first 12 games before dropping 13
of its final 15 games.
“It was a good win for our basketball team
tonight. Newman has a good team and has beaten some very
good teams already this season,” Wonder Boys Head Coach
Mark Downey said. “I was worried with how our
team would respond following our two-week holiday
layoff.”
The Wonder Boys showed little rust following
its layoff in the first 16 minutes of the game as they
connected on 15 of its first 17 shots enroute to pushing
out to a 41-9 lead. In fact, Tech finished the first
half shooting 75 percent from the field and completed
the game shooting a season-best 72 percent (38-for-53)
from the field. The 72 percent shooting was the highest
shooting percentage for Tech in a game since shooting 65
percent from the field against Christian Brothers in
2002.
After Tech’s strong start, the Jets, who fell
to 8-2 on the season with the loss, closed the first
half outscoring Tech, 16-6, to send the Wonder Boys into
halftime with a 47-25 lead. In fact, Newman actually
outscored Tech, 61-53 over the final 24 minutes of the
game.
“That opening 16 minutes was some of our best
basketball of the season,” the second-year Tech coach
said. “We shot the ball well and defended well and
played with a lot of confidence and poise.”
Senior guard Darren Tarver (Akron,
Ohio), a transfer from George Mason University, led four
Wonder Boys in double figures with 19 points on 7-of-10
shooting from the field. Junior guard Chad Henderson
(Memphis, Tenn.) added 16 points and seven rebounds,
while sophomore guard Renard Allen (New Orleans,
La.) had 12 points and five assists and sophomore guard
Brandon Friedel (Victoria, Texas) chipped in with
10 points in the 24-point victory.
In the second half, Tech increased its 47-25
halftime lead to 64-37 on a trey by Friedel with 14:23
remaining in the game, before Newman used a 14-4 run
that was capped by a lay-up by Brandon Brigham to pull
within 68-51 with 8:55 left in the game. From that
point, Tech used a 22-12 run to extend its lead back to
90-63 with 3:21 remaining in the game on a three-pointer
by sophomore guard Dexter Hendrix (Benton, Ark.).
The Jets closed the game by scoring seven of the final
11 points to make the final margin.
“I was pleased with the way our team responded
tonight once Newman began to creep back into the game,”
said Downey.
Newman was paced offensively by Kyle Smith’s
game-high 22 points, while Cole Elliott added 13 points
and Camilo Londono chipped in with 12 points.
While Tech’s offense shot a season-best 72
percent, the Jets were held to 37 percent shooting from
the field and held to 25 percent (8-for-32) shooting
from the three-point line. Newman entered the game
shooting 40 percent from long distance.
Despite the win, the one negative from
Thursday’s game was Tech’s 22 turnovers, which led to 23
points by Newman and Newman also held a 14-5 edge on the
offensive boards.
The Wonder Boys will have little time to
celebrate as it returns to action in less than 48 hours
to host North Alabama in a 6 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan.
5 at Tucker Coliseum. Tech collected a 100-90 win over
the Lions earlier this season in Florence.
“We better be ready to strap it on Saturday,”
Downey said. “UNA is going to be coming in here ready to
play and will be looking to avenge our win at their
place earlier this season.”
Newman University Box Score
-- Tech Athletics
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