Trevin Woods established new career highs in scoring and rebounding to lead Arkansas Tech University to a 100-88 non-conference men’s basketball win over Northeastern State University at the NSU Event Center in Tahlequah, Okla., on Tuesday night.
Woods scored 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He made all six of his free throw attempts, grabbed 16 rebounds and matched his career high in blocked shots with four as the Wonder Boys earned their sixth consecutive win.
R.J. Glasper added 22 points and Harris Brown notched a season-high 21 points to help Arkansas Tech (8-1) win for the fourth time in 19 all-time road games against NSU.
“We scored the ball well tonight,” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach. “We knew this would be a tough place to come get a win. We were able to play fast, but smart at the end of the game. Our guys showed some grit tonight.”
The first half saw four ties and eight lead changes. Arkansas Tech used a 10-0 run that included two Brown 3-pointers to take control of the game before halftime.
By the time the spurt was complete at the 2:33 mark of the first half, the Wonder Boys led 46-35. Their advantage was 52-44 at the intermission.
Northeastern State (3-8) pulled within 66-64 with 11:58 left in the second half, but once again it was Arkansas Tech’s perimeter shooting that helped them pull away. Mason Cline, Woods and Brown each made a 3-pointer within a span of 44 seconds and the Wonder Boys led 75-66 with 9:52 to go.
“That was definitely the difference in the game,” said Kline when asked about the quick 9-0 run. “They had made their run, and we knew they would. Those 3-pointers and that offense looked good, but it started because we got stops on the other end.”
By the time Glasper hit a trey at the 5:35 mark, Tech’s lead had ballooned to 83-72. The Wonder Boys maintained at least a nine-point edge the rest of the way.
Cline finished with 12 points and Alex Brown had 10 points for Tech.
Coryon Mason paced the RiverHawks with 19 points.
The Wonder Boys will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 31, with a 2 p.m. non-conference road game against the Missouri S&T Miners in Rolla, Mo. Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live coverage.
