MONTICELLO – The No. 16 University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team held No. 22 Arkansas Tech to just 15 points in the second half to record a 56-53 win in Gulf South Conference action.
 
Depsite UAM’s 33 percent field goal shooting, the Wonder Boys could not seem to find a way to make free throws. Tech finished the game connecting on just 3-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe. The Weevils connected on 18-of-28 for a 64 percent mark for the entire contest.
 
Tech held a 38-25 lead at halftime, and even extended its lead to as much as 15 points just two minutes into the second half, but the Weevils responded with a 10-2 scoring run capped off by a three-pointer from senior Deron Brown (Paris, Ky.) with 14:02 left to put the Weevils down 42-35.
 
Later in the half, the Weevils gained their first lead of the contest after senior Bernard Seymour (Biloxi, Miss.) nailed a jump-shot to give UAM a 49-47 advantage with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Just before Seymour’s go-ahead shot, junior Lorenzo Shine (Detroit, Mich.) nailed a jump-shot with 7:19 left to give the game its first tie.
 
From there, UAM was able to stretch its lead to as much as six points with 42 seconds remaining. Seymour put the Weevils up by five with a pair of free-throws with 11 seconds remaining. Tech’s Chad Henderson nailed a jump-shot as time expired to finalize the scoring.
 
Seymour led all scorers with 17 points after hitting 6-of-13 shots from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Arkansas Tech was led by Thiago Cordeiro with 14 points.
 
With the win, UAM improves to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in the GSC-West Division, while ATU drops to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in GSC games. UAM has now won five consecutive games and remains in a tie for first place in the division.
 
The Weevils continue GSC play this Saturday, January 31 in Magnolia, Ark. for a 7:30 p.m. contest with Southern Arkansas.
 
Fans can catch the action live on the radio in Southeast Arkansas at KHBM-FM, 93.7. That broadcast can also be heard live over the Internet at UAM’s official athletics website, uamsports.com.