There's something about that moment when a shot that could potentially end a season goes by.
On Thursday afternoon, the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys stared into the abyss and lived to tell the tale. They are now one win away from returning to the Great American Conference Tournament championship game.
The Wonder Boys (23-6) defeated the Harding Bisons 67-65 in the opening game. Harding's Kane McBride hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired that could have sent the ATU boys home to Russellville, but it missed the mark.
Mark Downey, ATU men's basketball head coach and GAC Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season, said, “I don't know if we deserved to win in that game, but we did it in a way that helped us win.'' I found it, and I'm proud of it.” “I knew I had to survive today.”
Downey knew that because of the health of Terron Peter, the Wonder Boys' leading scorer and GAC Player of the Year. He injured his shooting wrist in the final game of the regular season and tweaked his ankle during Thursday's pregame warmups. Peter, who is averaging 19.8 points per game this season, had five points on Thursday on 1-of-5 shooting from the floor.
“He was a little sick,” Downey said. “Right after the game, right after I left the court, he said to me, “I'll be ready on Saturday, so don't leave me now.'' I hope Peter comes back. When you don't have the best player in the league…he might have been 50 percent…that's tough.”
Arkansas Tech overcame that obstacle behind the defense. The Wonder Boys ranked No. 1 in the GAC in scoring defense and field goal defense this season, holding Harding to 35 percent shooting from the floor.
The Arkansas Tech men's next game will be against Northwestern Oklahoma State (17-12) in the GAC Tournament semifinals. Tipoff is set for Saturday at 2:15pm on KCJC 102.3 FM, www.arkansastechsports.com and the EAB Media Group app. All games in the GAC Tournament will be held at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
The Wonder Boys and Rangers will split the regular season series. Northwestern Oklahoma State defeated Arkansas Tech 63-54 in Russellville on January 18, and the Wonder Boys returned the favor on February 24 with a 70-63 victory in Alva, Oklahoma.
The men's GAC Tournament championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. The winner advances to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Arkansas Tech was one win away from winning the 2023 GAC Tournament. Twelve months ago, ATU members stood in the hallways of Firelake Arena and watched Southern Arkansas hit the net. Since then, the Wonder Boys have been on a mission to become the team that lifts the GAC Tournament trophy in 2024. He needs two more wins to accomplish that.
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Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU Director of University Relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
