Nationally 14th-ranked Arkansas Tech used a pair of second-half runs to come from behind and defeat the Christian Brothers Buccaneers 67-52 in Gulf South Conference men’s basketball at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Monday.
The Wonder Boys (19-3 overall, 10-0 GSC) won their 13th consecutive game overall and their 16th straight GSC home game. With the win, Tech maintains a one-game lead over Harding in the GSC West Division men’s basketball standings.
Arkansas Tech trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and 28-25 at halftime.
Christian Brothers (17-7, 5-5) still held a three-point lead midway through the second half, but that started to change with two Laithe Massey free throws at the 10:30 mark.
It was the beginning of a 10-0 Arkansas Tech spurt over a span of 3:16. Jeremy Dunbar capped the run with two free throws to make it 48-41 with 7:14 to go.
The Buccaneers stayed within reach, and three straight points from Harry Green cut the Wonder Boys’ advantage to 54-49 with 3:59 left.
Dunbar delivered a dagger when he drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing — Tech’s only made 3-pointer of the night — with 3:42 to go. It was the beginning of a game-ending 13-3 Arkansas Tech run that allowed the Wonder Boys to pull away. Tech held CBU without a point for the final 2:50.
James Causey led Arkansas Tech with 16 points and nine rebounds. Dunbar had 15 points, while Massey notched 14 points, five assists and no turnovers.
Johnie Davis scored all 10 of his points for the Wonder Boys after halftime. In two games against CBU this season, Davis was scoreless in the first half and scored a total of 29 points in the second half.
Green had 18 points for the Buccaneers.
The Wonder Boys are now 5-2 this season when trailing at halftime.
Arkansas Tech will visit Southern Arkansas for a 7:30 p.m. GSC game at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center in Magnolia on Thursday, Feb. 17.
Radio station KWKK 100.9 FM will broadcast the game in the Arkansas River Valley. The broadcast will be streamed over the Internet at www.athletics.atu.edu.
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