MEMPHIS—No. 1 Arkansas Tech shut out the Christian Brothers University Bucs for nearly five minutes down the stretch as they remained unbeaten with a 52-46 Gulf South Conference West Division win.
The Wonder Boys (19-0, 6-0 GSC West) jumped out to a 19-7 lead on the Bucs (14-6, 4-3) in the first seven minutes as Jeremy Dunbar poured in three three-pointers and 11 of his team-high 20 points in the early minutes.
The Bucs steadily chipped away at the lead from there, eventually cutting the margin to 25-21 on a
Kyle Couvion (Dayton, Ohio/Centerville HS) three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Wonder Boys opened the second half with a 7-0 burst to take a 32-21 lead as Dunbar tacked on three free throws to go with buckets from Laithe Massey and James Causey. The Bucs responded with their best stretch of the night, going on a 13-3 run to close within a point.
Zack Warner (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton HS) started the run with a three-pointer, and back-to-back baskets in the paint from
Scott Dennis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore HS) cut the margin to 32-28 with 12:13 remaining. Back-to-back scores by Couvion and Dennis capped the run as the Bucs drew within a 35-34 margin with 8:36 remaining.
But the Wonder Boys' defense clamped down, blanking the Bucs for 4:40 as they went on an 8-0 run before Dennis scored a three-point play. The Bucs never cut the margin below than the final margin of six points in the final five minutes.
Dennis scored a career-high 21 points to pace the Bucs, while Couvion scored 10. Dennis also posted 12 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal for his eighth double-double of the season.
Dunbar scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half, as he made his first five field goal attempts. He finished 5-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-9 at the free throw line with three three-pointers. James Causey added 10 for ATU.
The Bucs out-rebounded the Wonder Boys 37-23, including a 16-9 edge in offensive boards, but they committed 13 turnovers to the Wonder Boys' seven.
Both teams struggled from the floor. The Bucs shot 36 percent (18-of-50), including a season-low 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from three-point range, while the Wonder Boys were 35 percent (14-of-40). ATU was 20-of-30 (66.7 percent) at the line to the Bucs' 6-of-9 (66.7 percent).
The Bucs hit the road Thursday night as they visit Arkansas-Monticello at 7:30 p.m. Their next home game is Saturday, Feb. 13, against Delta State at 2 p.m.