WONDER BOYS CLOSE HOME SCHEDULE WITH ROUT OF
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO ON SENIOR NIGHT

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boy Basketball team picked up a convincing 79-58 win here Thursday night over Arkansas-Monticello in Gulf South Conference action in front of a season-high 1,227 fans at Tucker Coliseum.

Thursday was Senior Night at Tucker Coliseum and the game represented the final home game in the careers of seniors Chad Henderson (Memphis, Tenn.), Troy Marcus (Bronx, N.Y.) and Thiago Cordeiro (Recife, Brazil), along with junior John Clark (Marmaduke, Ark.), who is scheduled to graduate in May and chose not to return for his final season of eligibility.

“I am very thankful of this group of young men, especially our four seniors,” Wonder Boys Head Coach Mark Downey said following the win. “They (the seniors) are very special to me and it is a privilege to coach them.”

With the win, the Wonder Boys improve to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in the GSC, while UAM falls to 18-8 overall and 7-6 in the GSC. With the win, Tech eclipses last season’s win total of 18 and also helped the Wonder Boys avenge a 56-53 loss to UAM in Monticello back on Jan. 29. The 19 wins are also the most won by Tech in the school’s NCAA Division II era.

“We have come a long ways over the past three years,” Downey said. “We continue to make history here and that is pleasing.”

In Thursday’s win, the Wonder Boys went on a 26-5 over the final 9:43 of the opening half to claim a 46-22 halftime lead. Tech shot a sizzling 62 percent from the field in the first half and held the Boll Weevils to 28 percent shooting. In addition, Tech also knocked down six three pointers prior to intermission, including a stretch of three consecutive three-pointers by junior forward Dusan Radivojevic (Belgrade, Serbia).

          “We came out and knocked down some shots early and were able to jump on them,” the third-year Tech coach said. “We played really good defense and were aggressive going after rebounds and loose balls tonight.”

Henderson led the way for Tech with 15 points, while Cordeiro added 14 and six blocks and Radivojevic scored 11 points, all of which came in the first half. Junior guard Brandon Friedel (Victoria, Texas) finished with nine points to go with a team-high seven rebounds and six assists in the victory.

“This is good win for our team and a great night for our program,” said Downey. “I’m very proud of our effort.”

The Boll Weevils were led by Derek Easter who had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench. Deron Brown added 10 points and six assists and James Early also netted 10 points in the loss. UAM senior center Raymond Wright, who entered the game averaging 18.2 points per game, scored only four points in 13 minutes of action. Wright sat out the entire second half.

For the game, Tech shot 51 percent (28-for-55) from the field and UAM finished shooting 34 percent (20-for-59) from the floor.  In addition, Tech also hit 8-of-25 three-point attempts, while UAM made just 4-of-19 from long range and the Wonder Boys finished with a 40-32 edge on the boards.

The Wonder Boys will travel to Memphis, Tenn., for their regular season finale against eighth-ranked Christian Brothers on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Canale Arena. Tech fell 50-35 to the Buccaneers in Russellville on Jan. 31. CBU (21-5 overall, 10-3 GSC) will look to rebound after being upset Thursday at Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders earned a 52-46 win on its Senior Night in Magnolia.

          Arkansas-Monticello Box Score       

-- Tech Athletics --