Wonder Boys’ Season Ends at GAC Tourney

Markell Henderson and Kevin Buckingham poured in 20 points apiece on Friday afternoon to lead Southeastern Oklahoma State University to an 85-83 victory over Arkansas Tech University in the first round of the men’s Great American Conference Tournament at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Okla.

The loss ended the 2017-18 season for the Wonder Boys, who appeared in the postseason for an 11th consecutive year and finished this season 18-11 overall.

“These guys battled all year,” said Chad Kline, ATU head coach. “They did everything I asked them to do. We just came up short today. Give Southeastern Oklahoma credit. They made the plays when it counted.”

A 14-0 run provided Southeastern Oklahoma State with a 23-9 lead at the 10:08 mark of the first half.

The Savage Storm led by as many as 16 points in the opening period, building a 35-19 margin with 5:31 to go before halftime.

Arkansas Tech chipped away over the final five minutes of the half, and R.J. Glasper’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining cut Southeastern Oklahoma State’s advantage to 42-33 at the intermission.

Montrell Williams made back-to-back layups and Alex Brown connected on back-to-back 3-pointers for the Wonder Boys early in the second half, constituting a 10-0 run that pulled Tech within 44-43 at the 17:37 mark of the second half.

The Savage Storm (15-13) answered with six straight points of its own, establishing a theme that would play out for the remainder of the game. Arkansas Tech drew close on several occasions, but could never take the lead.

Southeastern maintained an edge of between one and 12 points, pulling away for a 76-64 lead with 4:28 to go.

Adam Dworsky scored six of the Savage Storm’s eight points during a spurt of less than two minutes that staked SOSU to that 12-point spread.

The Wonder Boys did not go quietly. Freddy Lee sparked a 12-2 run with a 3-point play at the 4:11 mark. Glasper completed the surge on a 12-foot jump shot with 1:54 left that cut the Southeastern lead to 78-76.

The Savage Storm held on by making 7-of-10 free throw attempts over the final 1:34. Southeastern was 20-of-26 from the free throw line on Friday, compared to 9-of-12 for Arkansas Tech.

“When we were coming back, we were getting good shots,” said Kline. “When it got tight at the end, we forced a couple and took some bad shots. We were resilient, but we didn’t have an answer at the end.”

Brown had 27 points and Glasper notched 24 points for the Wonder Boys. Williams, Tech’s lone senior, had 13 points and five rebounds in his final collegiate game.

A’Torey Everett contributed 16 points and Dworsky finished with 13 points for Southeastern, which earned its first-ever win at the GAC Tournament. The Savage Storm was 0-4 in its previous appearances in the event.

Southeastern Oklahoma State advanced to face Southern Nazarene University in a GAC Tournament semifinal game at noon Saturday in Bartlesville.