RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team will head to Florida to face off against Nova Southeastern and Florida Tech at the Florida Tech Winter Classic this weekend.

THE MATCHUPS
Arkansas Tech will take on Nova Southeastern on Friday, Dec. 18 at 4:30 p.m. and then challenge the host institution Florida Tech on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m.

THE BACKSTORY
After starting off the season with a 1-2 record, the Wonder Boys are currently on a four-game win streak. After picking up a 70-69 victory at Northwestern Oklahoma (70-69), Tech won three consecutive home games. The Wonder Boys started off the home stretch with a win over Missouri Southern (75-72) in non-conference play and then bested Great American Conference foes Oklahoma Baptist (85-60) and Southern Nazarene (66-53).

SERIES HISTORY
The Wonder Boys will be playing both Nova Southeastern and Florida Tech for the first time in program history.

SCOUTING THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech (5-2, 3-1 Great American Conference) have strung together four consecutive victories with a balanced offensive attack and a stifling defense. In the last four games, the Wonder Boys have held their opponents to just 63.5 ppg. Tech has five players averaging eight or more points per game, led by junior guard Marquis Yates (15 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Junior guard Thomas Alexander (11.4 ppg, 10 steals) is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in steals. Senior forward Nick Wayman (8.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg) leads the team in rebounding. Rounding out the Wonder Boys top scorers are junior guard Tyler Corley (8.3 ppg, 3 rpg) and senior guard Andrew Guillory (8 ppg, 4.3 rpg). On the defensive end, junior forward Tyrone Haughton has provided a spark off the bench with 12 blocked shots in five games, averaging 2.4 blocks per game.

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
Nova Southeastern (4-4) is coming off an 81-70 overtime victory against Eastern University (Pa.) on Wednesday. Prior to the win, the Sharks started off the month of December with a 98-79 home win over Palm Beach Atlantic before dropping a 75-74 contest to No. 17 Rollins on Dec. 4. Nova Southeastern is a team that goes deep on the bench, with 11 players seeing the floor in at least seven of the eight games the Sharks have played and eight players are seeing 15 or more minutes per game. The Sharks are led on the offensive and defensive end by Chris Page at 20.8 ppg and 2.6 assists per game while leading the team with 13 steals. Harrison Goodrick (10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg) is second on the team in scoring and is also second on the team in blocked shots with seven.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Florida Tech (8-2) is coming off a home win over Flagler (97-91) after splitting a pair of road games to start off the month of December. The Panthers dropped an overtime game at Eckerd (104-100) before rebounding with a win at Florida Southern (99-93). The Panthers have a prolific scoring offense, averaging 87.8 ppg and are currently the 35th best scoring offense in Division II. Florida Tech's offense shows incredible balance with six players averaging double-figure scoring. The Panthers are led by Corbin Jackson, who leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (10.3 rpg), and blocked shots (15). Sam Daniel (13.4 ppg), Patrick Anderson (12.6 ppg), Jermohn Queen (12.3 ppg), Randy Echols (12 ppg), and Jordan Majors (11.1 ppg) round out the double-figure scorers for the Panthers.

COVERAGE
Live video, audio, and statistics will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com.