MONTICELLO, Ark. –  The University of Arkansas at Monticello men's basketball team used a 52-point second half to propel them to victory over Great American Conference opponent Arkansas Tech University on Saturday from the Steelman Field House in Monticello, Arkansas. Marcus Gilbert and KJ Lesure each tallied 25 points while Austin Hardy had 19 and Denzel McDuffey finished with 16.
 
The game was actually fairly tight for the majority of it. In fact, the Weevils were only up four going into halftime.
 
At the break, Gilbert was leading all scorers with 14 points, most of which he got in the first 11 minutes of the contest.
 
At the start of the second half, UAM then went on a run. Up by two, the Weevils went on a 12-0 run sparked by excellent shooting from Hardy who had eight of the 12.
 
Arkansas Tech did cut it back to single digits a few moments later, but it was evident the momentum was still on UAM's side. With under 11 minutes remaining, the Weevils got it back to double-digits thanks to a big-time dunk from Justin Slocum. They never looked back.
 
The Weevils then stretched their lead all the way to 23 points on two separate occasions shooting lights-out in the final 10 minutes. They went on to win the contest, 96-76.
 
As a team, UAM shot 53.5 percent from the field and 48.0 percent from downtown.
 
Gilbert's 25 points were tied for a game high, but he also added eight rebounds and nine assists, along with three steals on defense.
 
Lesure had seven assists and three steals along with his 25 points.
 
With the win, the Weevils are now 18-9 overall and 10-8 in GAC play while ATU falls to 12-12 overall and 8-10 in GAC games. UAM is now tied for fifth in the GAC standings with East Central University, who they are set to host next week. The contest could go a long way in deciding who makes the GAC Championship Tournament.
 
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UAM will host East Central on Thursday from Steelman. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. following the women's game.