GAC MEN
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 72, ARKANSAS TECH 63
Richard Benedyth tied a career high with 24 points to lead Arkansas-Monticello (6-10, 4-6 Great American Conference) to Saturday's victory at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.
Benedyth and Jamal Peterson hit consecutive three-pointers to give UAM an early lead. Another Benedyth three-pointer capped a 7-0 Boll Weevils run to give UAM a 28-18 lead with 7:28 left in the first half. Arkansas Tech (9-8, 4-7) then used a 13-4 run to cut UAM's lead to one with 2:45 remaining and the Boll Weevils led 34-33 at halftime.
The teams exchanged 8-0 runs to start the second half, but the Boll Weevils were able to build a 14-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the game, thanks to a 9-0 run over a 2:43 span. The Wonder Boys took advantage of missed free throws by UAM down the stretch to cut the lead to six with 1:46 remaining but would get no closer.
Peterson finished with 15 points for UAM, which shot 59 percent (27-of-46) from the floor. Andre Brown added 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Vicktor Arnick scored 11 points. DeChriston McKinney came off the bench to lead Arkansas Tech with 15 points.
OUACHITA BAPTIST 84, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 69
Tirrell Brown scored a game-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and grabbed 8 rebounds as Ouachita Baptist (8-8, 8-2) had 5 players score 10 or more points in its victory over Southern Arkansas (9-7, 6-4) in front of 769 fans at Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.
The Tigers outscored the Muleriders 50-35 in the second half, thanks to 59.4 percent (19 of 32) shooting from the floor and 9 of 10 free throws. SAU shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half, but dipped to 47.1 percent in the second half. SAU outrebounded OBU 38-31, but was outscored in the lane 40-38. The Tigers turned 21 turnovers into 26 points, scored 12 second-chance points, 12 fast-break points and received 19 points off the bench.
Jordan Corbitt scored 15 points for OBU on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, all coming from the three-point line, while Lakee Westbrook had 13, David Berete added 12 and Justin McCleary finished with 10. Denarious Lockhart, CJ Elkins and Alvin Braddock scored 14 points each to lead the Muleriders.
HARDING 76, HENDERSON STATE 54
Harding (9-6, 8-2) led 42-21 at halftime and cruised to the victory over Henderson State (4-12, 3-8) on Saturday in front of 2,178 at Rhodes-Reaves Field House in Searcy. The Bisons shot 53.1 percent (17 of 32) from the floor in the first half, including 6 of 11 three-pointers. The Reddies shot 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from the floor and hit 1 of 10 three-pointers. Jacob Gibson scored a game-high 26 points to lead Harding, while Will Francis had 21 and Blake McNair added 12 for the Bisons. Kaylon Tappin led Henderson State with 16 points.
HEARTLAND MEN
ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH 79, NEWMAN 78
Arkansas-Fort Smith (15-3, 8-2 Heartland) shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the second half to come away with a victory over Newman (11-7, 4-6) in front of 288 fans at Eugate Gymnasium in Wichita, Kan.
The Lions shot 44.1 percent from the floor in the first half and finished the game at 51.7 percent. The Jets shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, 48.5 percent in the second half and finished at 44.1 percent. UAFS outrebounded Newman 40-35 and held a 40-26 advantage in points in the lane. The Lions turned 10 turnovers into 14 points, got 12 fast-break points and 12 points off their bench.
UAFS' Seth Youngblood scored a game-high 21 points in the victory. Alex Cooper added 15 points for the Lions and DaVaunta Thomas finished with 13. Gavin Thurman led Newman with 19 points, while Jalen Love had 15 and Taylor Schieber added 11.
GAC WOMEN
ARKANSAS TECH 90, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 60
Arkansas Tech (13-2, 12-0 Great American Conference) used a 13-3 run in the first and second quarters to take control at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.
Arkansas Tech jumped out to an eight-point lead early, but Arkansas-Monticello (8-6, 5-5) responded with consecutive layups by Cheridan Burroughs to cut the lead to four with 3:57 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Suns took over from there, using their 13-3 run that extended into the second quarter to hold a 14-point lead with just under seven minutes left in the first half. Arkansas Tech shot 76 percent (22 of 29) from the floor in the first half and led 55-25 at halftime.
Fatima Adams of Arkansas Tech led all scorers with 20 points. Nikki Mullen led UAM with 15 points, while Jordan Goforth scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half for the Cotton Blossoms.
HENDERSON STATE 66, HARDING 62
Dulincia Keener scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Henderson State (8-9, 7-4) to a victory over Harding (9-5, 7-3) in front of 1,230 fans at Rhodes-Reeves Field House in Searcy.
Both teams shot poorly in the first half, as the Reddies shot 34.8 percent (8 of 23) and the Lady Bisons shot 27.2 percent (9 of 33). Despite the cold shooting, Henderson State held a 31-28 lead at halftime. The Reddies heated up in the second half, shooting 41.2 percent from the floor and hitting 5 of 6 free throws. Henderson State turned 15 Harding turnovers into 19 points, scored 32 points in the lane and got 15 points off the bench.
Haleigh Henson scored 14 points for the Reddies and Victoria Stewart added 13. Harding's Sydney Layrock scored a game-high 17 points the loss, while A'ndrea Haney had 16 and Lundon Williams finished with 10 for the Lady Bisons.
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 70, OUACHITA BAPTIST 64
Trailing by one after the third quarter, Southern Arkansas outscored Ouachita Baptist 26-19 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory at Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.
Tierra Tucker led SAU (11-3, 7-3) with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. The Lady Muleriders shot 29.4 percent (10 of 34) from the floor in the first half, but were tied with the Lady Tigers 26-26 at halftime. SAU shot 56.5 percent (13 of 23) from the floor in the second half and turned 21 OBU turnovers nto 21 points. Ouachita Baptist (5-11, 2-8) outrebounded SAU 40-39, but was outscored in the lane 32-26.
Rosa Bryant scored 15 points for the Lady Muleriders and Shana Holmes added 15. Breanna Harris scored a game-high 27 points in the loss for OBU, while Katie Kapler had 13 and Kori Bullard added 11.
HEARTLAND WOMEN
ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH 84, NEWMAN 68
Jasmine Brainard scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Arkansas-Fort Smith (12-6, 5-4 Heartland) to a victory over Newman (9-8, 3-6) at Eugate Gymnasium in Wichita, Kan.
The Lady Lions led 35-31 at halftime, but were outscored by the Lady Jets 25-19 in the third quarter to trail 56-54. UAFS then outscored Newman 30-12 in the fourth quarter to pull away. The Lady Lions shot 44.3 percent (27 of 61) from the floor, including 48.1 percent (13 of 27) in the second half. UAFS outrebounded Newman 44-30, but each team scored 22 points in the lane.
Candice Followwell had 15 points for UAFS and Ashley Bean added 14. Brianna Calwell led Newman with 16 points, while Natalia Hausmann had 14 and Bria DeGrate finished with 13.
Sports on 01/24/2016