Courtesy Arkansas Tech University Athletics Department
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Will Paul scored a career-high 24 points while Charles Mells comes up one block short of the school record with seven as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys (6-4, 3-1 GAC) men’s basketball team picked up their third conference win of the season with a 78-58 victory over Northwest Oklahoma State University (4-6, 2-2 GAC) at Tucker Coliseum on Thursday night.
The Wonder Boys got the lead early going up 4-0 at the 18:05 mark with a layup by Mells. A jumper by Will Paul with 15:46 left in the first half gave Tech a 10-3 lead over the Rangers. Paul had an excellent night scoring 24 points, gathering 5 boards, and going 4-for-8 from three-point land.
Tech continued on a 7-4 run over the next three minutes to give the Wonder Boys a 17-7 lead. Northwest Oklahoma clawed their way back hitting back-to-back 3’s and finally tied the game at 17-7 with 9:29 left in the half. The teams traded baskets for a while and the Rangers gained their first lead on another three-pointer by Marshall Bell to make it 22-21, Northwestern Oklahoma.
That was when Tech regained the lead and never gave it back. A rim-rocking dunk and several big blocks from Charles Mells kicked off a 7-0 Tech run that did not end until there was 1:12 left in the half. A free-throw from Jared Williamson gave the Wonder Boys a 33-24 halftime lead.
The Wonder Boys continued their dominance in the second half extending their lead to 12 points at the 16:55 mark on a layup by Kendell Pinkney. After several more free-throws from Bobby Hatchett and Williamson, the Tech lead was 10 with 14:00 to play. The Wonder Boys made 13-of-16 from the charity stripe.
A fast-paced second half with more scoring from Paul helped give Tech their biggest lead of the night (73-48) with 4:14 to play. The Wonder Boys would only give up 13 more points the rest of the game to make the final score 78-58.
Arkansas Tech shot a season-high 62.2% from the field while holding Northwestern Oklahoma to just 31.7%. Tech also put up season-highs in blocked shots (10) and assists (19). This is the second game in a row the Wonder Boys have scored a season-high 78 points.
The Wonder Boys will return to action on Saturday, January 5th hosting Southwestern Oklahoma at Tucker Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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