Johnie Davis scored a season-high 23 points and Willie Sanders added 17 points to lead the nationally 21st-ranked Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys to a 102-74 non-conference victory over the Southwestern Christian Eagles at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville on Friday night.
Davis (photographed) and Sanders combined to shoot 73 percent from the field. Davis was 9-of-13 from the field, while Sanders connected on 7-of-9 field goal attempts. Davis added four assists, and Sanders notched five steals.
The Wonder Boys (5-2) jumped out to a 14-3 lead and never trailed. Tech led 52-33 at halftime and used a 17-5 run to open the second half to lead 69-38 with 15:35 to go.
It was never in doubt from there as the Wonder Boys rolled past a Southwestern Christian team that took NCAA Division II and Lone Star Conference member East Central University to overtime just four nights earlier.
Arkansas Tech shot 50 percent from the field (36-of-72), and it was nearly flawless at the free throw line. The Wonder Boys made 23-of-24 (96 percent) at the charity stripe.
Tech finished with a 44-14 advantage in points in the paint and a 31-11 edge in fast break points.
Jeremy Dunbar scored 10 points to give the Wonder Boys three players in double figures in scoring. Laithe Massey contributed nine points, six assists and four steals. Blake Mitchem had nine points and seven rebounds, and Jared Williamson netted nine points for Tech.
James Giles had a team-high eight rebounds for the Wonder Boys, but Tech finished with just a 36-35 edge on the glass.
Josh Gamblin led Southwestern Christian (2-5) with 14 points.
The Wonder Boys will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 11, when they visit Lambuth University for a 4 p.m. non-conference game in Jackson, Tenn. Russellville radio station KWKK 100.9 FM and www.athletics.atu.edu will have the play-by-play call of the game.
Tech’s men defeated Lambuth 87-65 in Russellville on Nov. 20.
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