WONDER BOYS COME BACK FROM 16 DOWN IN FINAL THREE MINUTES, BUT FALLS SHORT AT HOME TO ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Men’s Basketball fell three points short of starting 5-0 in GSC play here Saturday as Arkansas-Monticello collected a 67-64 win over the Wonder Boys in Gulf South Conference action at Tucker Coliseum.

Tech, who fell to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the GSC, needed a late spark from junior guard Chad Henderson (Memphis, Tenn.) to have a chance to earn the win as Tech outscored UAM, 18-2 over the final 3:07 of the game to turn what was a 16-point deficit into a tie, before UAM sealed the win on a three-pointer from Duke Sturdivant with four ticks left on the game clock.

“We made an unbelievable run over the final three minutes of the game tonight,” Wonder Boys Head Coach Mark Downey said. “But for 37 minutes, UAM outplayed and outhustled us and deserved to win the game.”

Sturdivant, who entered the game shooting just 22 percent (12-for-55) from the 3-point line on the season, connected on a wide-open three as the shot clock was expiring to give UAM (11-6 overall, 3-2 GSC) the lead and ultimately the victory.

“We missed an assignment on defense and a 22-percent shooter from 3-point range made a tremendous shot,” Downey said.

Henderson single-handily carried Tech over the final three-plus minutes of the game as he scored 16 of Tech’s final 18 points in a little over 90 seconds, including drilling a three-pointer with 38 seconds left in the game to force a tie at 64. The only other Tech player to score in the final three minutes of the game was senior guard Darren Tarver (Akron, Ohio), who started the closing run with a basket at the three minute mark.

“I’ve never seen a performance quite like Chad put on down the stretch tonight in all my years of coaching,” the second-year Tech coach. “His performance was unbelievable. We were a little down on him in the first half, but he stepped up and made some plays at the right time.”

Henderson’s heroics saved what otherwise was a disappointing performance for the Wonder Boys, who had a chance to maintain sole possession of first place in the West Division standings with a win. With the loss and Harding’s 60-57 win Saturday at Henderson State, both teams sit atop the West Division standings with 4-1 marks.

“In order to win a league title, you need to be able to defend your home court and get a couple road wins,” said Downey. “We have already won two road conference games and needed to protect our house, which tonight we didn’t.”

In the first half, UAM used a 10-2 run to turn an 11-9 deficit into a 19-13 lead with 6:37 left in the half. Tech, though, responded as it used a 6-2 run to pull within 21-19, before UAM used back-to-back baskets by Brown and Sturdivant to increase its lead to 25-19 with 2:59 remaining in the half. A free throw by junior guard Jamar Flowers (White Castle, La.) and a lay-up by junior forward Troy Marcus (Bronx, NY) helped Tech close the gap to 25-22 at the half.

Tech struggled shooting the ball from the outside most of the night against UAM’s zone defense as the Wonder Boys connected on just 5-of-18 three-pointers (28 percent) and shot 36 percent from the field in the first half. For the game, Tech finished the night shooting 49 percent from the floor, but that number was aided by finishing the game hitting its seven of its final eight shots to shoot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the floor in the second half.

Henderson and Flowers each led Tech with 16 points, while Tarver added 15 points in 28 minutes of action off the bench.

One statistic that disappointed Downey in Saturday’s game was its rebounding as the Boll Weevils held a 36-23 edge on the glass in the win. Tech entered the game with an 8.0 rebound margin over its opponents.

“We weren’t ready to play tonight. Our effort was lackluster, especially on the boards,” Downey added. “We need to learn to handle adversity better and come ready to play every night in this league.”

Sturdivant’s winning trey helped give UAM five players in double figures on the night as he scored 11 points. Bernard Seymour led the way for the Boll Weevils with 15 points, while D’Angelo Duke and Deron Brown each had 12 points and Raymond Wright added 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

The Wonder Boys will seek to return to the win column when it returns to the road next Thursday, Jan. 31 for a GSC match-up at Delta State. The Statesmen enter the game with a 9-8 overall record and 3-2 mark in GSC play after collecting a 79-63 win Saturday at home over preseason GSC West Division favorite, Christian Brothers.

          Arkansas-Monticello Box Score       

-- Tech Athletics --