The Wonder Boys faced off against Harding University on Feb. 8 for the second time this season. ATU won at Tucker Coliseum 89-76 after beating the Bisons on their home turf, Searcy, two weeks before.
Harding took an early five-point lead over ATU after a few layups, free throws and a three-pointer. ATU closed the gap with a three-point shot by BJ Johnson with the assist from Cejay Mann.
Kimani Binder gave ATU the lead with a three-pointer and the assist from Ke’Lyn Adams. Johnson put up a jump shot, and Binder shot another three-pointer pushing ATU into a seven-point lead.
Harding started to close the scoring gap, but ATU continued to fight hard for the lead. Adams, with the assist from Niko Gosnell, dunked the ball on a fast break. Gosnell followed Adams with another dunk with the assist from Justin Briley, putting the score at 26-19 with ATU in the lead.
With one second left in the first half, Briley made a lay-up in the paint and sent the Wonder boys into halftime with a lead of 41-32.
Harding put the first points on the board at the start of the second half; however, ATU countered Harding’s shot with a rebound by Adams, an assist from Johnson and a layup by Hall.
With a three-point shot, Harding tied the score 48-48, then quickly after took the lead. A three-point shot by Binder and another by Hall put ATU in a tight lead. The two teams continued to take turns tying the score and taking the lead.
A free-throw by Gosnell gave ATU a two-point lead that they refused to give back. With five minutes left in the game, Kevin Howard, with the assist from Johnson, dunked the ball, making the score 74-64.
With only 17 seconds left in the game, Adams hit a free-throw, giving on a Fastbreak. With five seconds left, Harding missed a three-point shot, making the score 89-76 a win for ATU at the buzzer.
Game leaders for the Wonder Boys in scoring were Binder with 15 points, Adams with 14 points, Mann with 13 points and Howard with 12 points.
Leaders for field goals were Adams with six, Binder with five, Howard with five and Mann with five.
Leaders for three-point shots were Binder with three, Johnson with two, Mann with two and Briley with one.
Leaders for free throws were Binder with two, Briley with two, Howard with two and Gosnell with two.
Leaders for rebounds were Hall with eight, Adams with seven, Briley with five and Howard with five.
