Jhonathan Dunn made a 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining to give Southern Nazarene University an 85-82 men’s basketball victory over Arkansas Tech University at the Sawyer Center in Bethany, Okla., on Saturday afternoon.
The Wonder Boys attempted a 3-pointer to tie as the final horn sounded, but it was no good and their eight-game winning streak came to an end.
“Guys were making plays all day long,” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach. “It felt like an NCAA Tournament game. It was played at a high level.”
Noah Starkey led the Crimson Storm (10-1 overall, 7-0 Great American Conference) with 23 points. The 6-foot-11 center was 8-of-11 from the field and 7-of-7 at the free throw line.
“(Starkey) is a load on the block,” said Kline. “You have to switch your defenses against them a ton, and you almost have to put one defender behind and one in front of him. They took what our defense gave them.”
Arkansas Tech (10-2, 4-2) trailed 43-40 at halftime and by as many as 10 points in the second half. The Wonder Boys answered with a 12-2 run that gave them a 75-74 edge on Jerami Grace’s layup with 4:21 to play.
Dunn made a layup, was fouled and hit the free throw on Southern Nazarene’s next possession to reclaim the lead.
Tech never led again, but it did tie the score at 82-82 when R.J. Glasper made a steal and a 3-pointer with 48.4 seconds to go.
Dunn’s trey on the Crimson Storm’s next possession extended a streak of wins by the home team in the Tech-SNU series to eight consecutive games.
Glasper finished with 20 points for the Wonder Boys. Trevin Woods had 15 points, and Montrell Williams contributed 12 points.
Micah Speight notched 17 points and eight assists for the Crimson Storm, while Dunn poured in 16 points.
The Wonder Boys will continue their GAC schedule with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Henderson State University in Arkadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 11. Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will have live coverage from the Duke Wells Center.