RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech, Arkansas-Monticello, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southwestern Oklahoma State all recorded victories during Saturday’s Great American Conference men’s basketball contests.
ARKANSAS TECH 91, HENDERSON STATE 67
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – 20th-ranked Arkansas Tech (19-4, 11-2 GAC) captured its eight consecutive victory and took over sole possession of first place in the GAC standings with a 91-67 win over Henderson State (15-9, 10-3 GAC) athome on Saturday inside Tucker Coliseum. The ATU win evens the season series between the two squads at one win each. After a close first half with six tie scores and four lead changes, the Wonder Boys dominated the second half, shooting just over 57 percent from the field and holding HSU to 33 percent. ATU led by as much as 27 points in the final two minutes of regulation. ATU’s Jared Williams led all scorers with 26 points after making 6-of-8 field goal attempts and 13-of-15 free-throw attempts. Josh French led the Reddies with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 86, EAST CENTRAL 72
ADA, Okla. – Arkansas-Monticello (17-8, 7-6 GAC) made 14 three-pointers to highlight its 86-72 road-win over East Central (5-19, 2-12 GAC) on Saturdayinside the Kerr Activities Center. It is UAM’s second win over ECU this season. The Boll Weevils made 14-of-19 three-pointers for a final mark of 73.7 percent from beyond the arc. Overall, UAM shot 47.3 percent from the field (26-of-55). ECU trailed closely at 45.6 percent (26-of-57), but the three-pointers proved to be the difference. ECU was 8-of-22 from three-point range. UAM held the lead for the entire contest, holding as much as a 17-point edge in the first half and an 18-point lead in the final 20 minutes. UAM’s Kori Forge turned in his second 30-point outing of the season with 32 points in the win over ECU to lead all scorers. LA Farmer added 23 points, six assists and five rebounds. Bobby McAdoo led the Tigers with 20 points.
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 96, HARDING 79
DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State (10-16, 6-8 GAC) shot 63 percent from the field to reach its season high in scoring in a 96-79 win over Harding (13-10, 8-5 GAC) at home on Saturday inside Bloomer Sullivan Arena. The Southeastern win evens the season series between the two squads at one win each. Southeastern made 34-of-54 field goal attempts for its final mark of 63 percent. The Savage Storm shot 62.1 percent in the first half (18-of-29) and 64 percent in the second half (16-of-25) in the second half to record the lop-sided victory. The Savage Storm never trailed in the contest despite a back-and-forth battle throughout the first 12 minutes of the opening period. SOSU reached its largest lead of 18 points on three different occasions in the second half. The Bisons were productive in their loss, making 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts (30-of-63), led by a Zach Roddenberry’s game-high 34 points following a 15-of-23 performance from the field. Steven Kohli led the Savage Storm with 22 points. Southeastern’s Ivan Johnson turned in a new GAC single-game record with 14 assists in the win.
SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 74, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 65
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Southwestern Oklahoma State (15-9, 6-8 GAC) made 14 three-pointers in a 74-65 win over Southern Arkansas (12-13, 5-7 GAC) at home on Saturday inside Rankin Williams Fieldhouse. The SWOSU win snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Bulldogs their second win over SAU this season. SWOSU was 14-of-25 from three-point range for a final mark of 56 percent, which highlighted a 53.3 percent overall shooting day for the Bulldogs. SWOSU took the lead in the first 30 seconds and never looked back, leading by as much 21 points in the first half and 15 points in the second half. The Muleriders used a 10-1 scoring run to get as close as six points in the final five minutes, but the Savage Storm answered with five quick points to get back on top by double-digits. SWOSU’s Chase Elliott led all scorers with 21 points. Casey Chesier led the Muleriders with 20 points.