East Central University dominated the offensive glass for the first 16 minutes of the men’s contest at Tucker Coliseum on Thursday night.
Arkansas Tech University turned that story on its ear the rest of the way and cruised to a 92-80 Great American Conference victory.
The Tigers (11-7 overall, 8-5 GAC) outscored the Wonder Boys 16-1 in second chance points over those first 16 minutes.
Arkansas Tech (7-12, 5-8) held a 16-3 edge in second chance points from that point forward.
“We started going to rebound,” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach, when asked what changed for his side. “We told the guys that if you are not the one shooting, assume it’s a miss. We sent one guy back and three to the glass.”
Tech’s Will Adler finished with 25 points. He was 7-of-11 from 3-point range. Alex Brown notched 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field.
Mason Cline knocked down 4-of-6 3-point attempts and scored 14 points for the Wonder Boys, who won their third consecutive game.
Tech was 15-of-30 from beyond the 3-point arc.
“We’re scoring at a lot higher clip,” said Kline. “You have to be in shape to hoist that many threes. The guys will tell you it hasn’t been a lot of fun in practice. All we’ve done is run and shoot, but those two things are working for us.”
The Wonder Boys took the lead for good on back-to-back 3-pointers by Adler and Cline to end the first half. It was 48-45 at the intermission.
An 11-2 run midway through the second half allowed Tech to pull away for a 71-57 margin at the 10:18 mark. The Wonder Boys maintained a double digit lead for the duration of the evening.
Da’Rion King had 21 points and seven rebounds for East Central.
Arkansas Tech will face Southeastern Oklahoma State University for a 3 p.m. men’s contest at Tucker Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Tickets ($5 adults/$3 students and senior citizens) will be available at the door. Free admission will be granted to those with a valid ATU identification card.
Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live coverage.
