A second-half surge sent Arkansas Tech University to an 85-60 Great American Conference win over Oklahoma Baptist University in men’s basketball at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Thursday night.
The Wonder Boys (4-2 overall, 2-1 GAC) went on a 22-3 run over a seven-minute span late in the second half to claim a 79-56 edge with three minutes remaining. That spurt allowed Arkansas Tech to extend its winning streak to three games and beat the Bison in men’s basketball for the first time in five tries.
“We play a lot more guys than they do,” said Arkansas Tech head coach Chad Kline. “It’s a game of runs. You just have to stay with your game plan. We knew it would be a tight game for 30 or 35 minutes. We were counting on our depth to wear them down.”
Thomas Alexander paced the Wonder Boys with a career-high 26 points. He was 8-of-15 from the field and 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
“It’s going to be a different guy leading us every night,” said Kline. “It could be any of five or six or seven different guys.”
Arkansas Tech had a 48-3 edge in points off the bench and a 44-34 rebounding advantage on Thursday night.
Marquis Yates notched 12 points and Nick Wayman added 11 points for the Wonder Boys.
Steven Green had 20 points for Oklahoma Baptist (3-2, 1-2).
Arkansas Tech will host Southern Nazarene University for a 3 p.m. league game at Tucker Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 5.
Fans donating a new and unwrapped toy at the door will be admitted free of charge.
Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will have live coverage.
