ARKADELPHIA -- The No. 16 Ouachita men's basketball team built on its historic season Saturday, pulling away in the second half for a 71-57 victory over Arkansas Tech inside Bill Vining Arena.

For the first time in 50 years, Ouachita has reached the 20-win mark in consecutive seasons. The Tigers led for over 37 minutes to improve to 20-4 overall and 16-2 in the Great American Conference, while the Wonder Boys fell to 8-16 and 6-12 in league play. 

The Tigers jumped out to a 5-0 lead after senior Devon Hancock drilled a deep 3-pointer from the right wing off a feed from senior point guard PJ Neal. Arkansas Tech answered back, feeding the basketball to its redshirt-sophomore big man Aiden Underdown, who scored four of the Wonder Boys' first five baskets to keep the game within one possession. The Wonder Boys took their lone lead at 6-5 after Underdown crashed the offensive glass to score a two-handed putback dunk, but held the 1-point edge for a mere 24 seconds of action. 

With the score tied at 8-8, a pair of junior Tigers caught fire from 3-point range. Christian Parks made his second 3-pointer of the season from the top of the key, then Ryder McConnell knocked down consecutive threes from each wing to push the lead to 19-12 midway through the half. 

After the Wonder Boys cut it to within one possession, freshman Jaxon Conley intercepted a pass in the post, pushed the fast break and led Hancock ahead to finish the fast break with an and-1 at the rim. In the closing seconds of the opening period, Neal secured a long rebound and raced ahead before he used a euro step to finish a coast-to-coast layup, which sent Ouachita into the locker room with a 30-25 halftime lead. 

Conley opened both halves with a steal and continued to flourish on both ends of the floor. The Springdale, Ark. native attacked inside and finished consecutive layups to stretch the lead to nine. Conley led all scorers with 16 points on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting from the floor. 

After the Wonder Boys retaliated to bring it back within five, the Tigers pounced on a 14-0 scoring run to take full control. Neal poked away a steal before he led Hancock ahead with a bounce pass to finish the fast break at the rim. Conley showcased his post moves and spun off his defender to create enough seperation to score inside. Sophomore Crew Flowers used a euro step to glide through the lane and drew contact for a traditional three-point play. Flowers capped the surge with a corner three off a feed from Neal to give the Tigers a commanding 48-29 lead. 

The lead ballooned to a 21-point margin midway through the second half after Neal drove beneath the basket and twisted in a layup off the glass. The Tigers continued to attack from all angles as junior Trey Smith beat the shot clock with a baseline jumper while drifting out of bounds. Conley put the game on ice after tossing an alley-oop assist to Parks for a two-hand slam in the closing minutes. 

Ouachita has now posted 20-wins in consecutive campaigns for the first time in its NCAA era. The last time the men's basketball team achieved that feat was a four-year stretch from 1971 to 1975. 

The Tigers take a road trip to Oklahoma next week that could have significant implications on the GAC regular season title and conference tournament seeding. Ouachita visits Southern Nazarene on Thursday before an upcoming ranked rematch with No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist next Saturday.