RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The No. 1 ranked Arkansas Tech Men’s Basketball team was able to hold off a late rally by upset-minded Arkansas-Monticello here Saturday evening to remain undefeated on the season as the Wonder Boys posted a 67-65 victory over the Boll Weevils in Gulf South Conference action at Tucker Coliseum.

Tech, who was playing its third game in six days, used 15-of-17 free throw shooting in the second half, including an 11-for-11 effort at the line after halftime by senior guard Renard Allen (New Orleans, La.) to post the victory and run Tech’s home court winning streak to 16 consecutive games dating to last season. The 16-game home court winning streak is the ninth longest active streak in Division II.

“We gutted this one out tonight. We didn’t play all that well, but some of that credit for our play goes to UAM,” Wonder Boys Head Coach Mark Downey said. “I thought our defense down the stretch was good and our free throw shooting was the difference in the game.”

While Tech (21-0 overall, 8-0 GSC) shot 89 percent from the free throw line, the Boll Weevils (10-8 overall, 5-3 GSC) shot 62 percent (16-for-26) at the line, including going 11-for-19 from the charity stripe in the second half.

In the first half, both teams were able to keep each other in check as neither team was able to lead by more than six points, which Tech was able to do three separate times. Following Tech’s final six-point lead on a basket by senior guard Marcus Pillow (Russellville, Ark.) with 6:15 left, UAM closed out the half outscoring Tech, 8-2, to force a 31-31 tie at the half.

Junior forward James Giles (Somerset, N.J.) put on his best performance of the season as he scored eight of his career-high 10 points and pulled down four of his career-high rebounds in the first half.

“James came in tonight and gave us a nice boost off the bench,” said Downey, who improved his record to 68-41 as Tech’s coach, including winning 44 of his last 53 games.

In the first half, both teams were pretty identical on paper, with only difference being Tech holding a 12-6 edge in bench points.

          Tech used a 21-7 run over a span of nearly eight minutes in the second half to turn a 36-35 deficit following a three-pointer by Hamid Ford with 18:09 left in the game into a 56-43 lead following two free throws by Allen. Ford led the way for UAM with a game and career-high 21 points.

          For the second straight game, it was the play of Allen that spearheaded the Wonder Boys as last season’s GSC Tournament MVP scored all 17 of his team-high points after halftime.

          After Allen’s two free throws with 10:28 left in the game, the Boll Weevils used a 22-10 run to pull within 66-65 after a three-pointer by Nick Carey with 2:14 left in contest. The Boll Weevils had a chance to take the lead nearly a minute later, but Carey misfired on two consecutive free throws. The Wonder Boys came down court after Carey’s two misses, but failed to score after a missed three-pointer by senior guard Brandon Friedel (Victoria, Texas) with a minute left in game. Tech used a free throw by senior forward Irvin Humphrey (Boutte, La.) with 16 seconds left to push its lead to 67-65, but Ford misfired on a three-pointer with seven seconds left to play to seal Tech’s victory.

          Allen and Giles were joined in double figures by junior guard Jeremy Dunbar (Niceville, Fla.), who scored 13 points. Junior forward James Causey (Tangipahoa, La.) added nine points in the win.

          Tech finished the game shooting 39 percent from the field, but struggled from the 3-point line as they shot 14 percent, while UAM shot 36 percent from the floor and 26 percent from long distance.

          On the night, UAM’s defense held Friedel, who entered the game averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game, to five points. The five points helped Friedel become the 30th Wonder Boy in school history to score 1,000 career points. He entered Saturday’s game needing to score just four points to reach the milestone.

In addition to Ford, Anthony Lacey and Carey each scored 11 points in the loss, while Lacey added 10 rebounds for a double-double. The Boll Weevils finished the game with a slight 42-41 edge on the boards. Humphrey collected nine rebounds to lead the way for Tech.

Tech returns to action next Thursday, Feb. 11, when the Wonder Boys travel to Arkadelphia, Ark., for a rematch against Henderson State. Tip-off for Thursday’s game at HSU is set for 8 p.m. at the Duke Wells Center. The Wonder Boys earned an 88-67 win over the Reddies in Russellville on Jan. 14.