That which seemed nearly impossible just a few days ago is now reality.
The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team, which was three games outside the cut line to make the Great American Conference Tournament with three games remaining, put together its first three-game winning streak of the season and got all the help it needed from elsewhere in the league during the final week of the regular season.
As a result, Arkansas Tech (12-16) earned the eighth and final spot in the GAC Tournament. The Wonder Boys will face the regular season GAC champion Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (20-6) at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the GAC Tournament first round at Southside Arena in Fort Smith.
Live coverage will be available on KCJC 102.3 FM, www.arkansastechsports.com and the EAB Media Group app.
“I’ve questioned these guys’ toughness all year, but for us to get in this tournament, that alone is a testament to their toughness and refusal to quit,” said Mark Downey, ATU head men’s basketball coach. “They didn’t quit on each other and they didn’t quit on the staff. I’m super proud of them.
“We’ve still got work to do,” continued Downey. “Everyone is 0-0 now. We’ll go over there and see what we can do. It’s close to home, too, so we need a lot of people to come over there on Thursday night. I want to see a lot of green and gold in that place. It needs to be a home court advantage.”
The Wonder Boys are defending GAC Tournament champions. ATU defeated Southern Nazarene 72-57 in last year’s championship game, but it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to refer to Thursday’s game as a rematch. The Crimson Storm does not have any players on its 2024-25 roster who were on its 2023-24 roster.
Southern Nazarene defeated Arkansas Tech twice during the 2024-25 regular season. Both games went down to the final moments.
The Crimson Storm used a 7-0 run over the final 1:29 to defeat the Wonder Boys 60-55 in Russellville on Jan. 11. Southern Nazarene’s Stevie Strong made a 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining in Bethany, Okla., on Feb. 6, to give the Crimson Storm the lead for good and propel SNU to a 68-66 victory over ATU.
“(SNU) is good,” said Downey. “They have a great coach (B.J Foster) and they have great players. We’re going to go over there and keep playing with house money. We’re going to keep fighting and keep battling. We’re going to try to find a way…one game at a time, one possession at a time.”
Talk to you on the radio.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
